James Milner will take Liverpool's first penalty if their Champions League final against Real Madrid is to be decided on a shootout.
The Reds will be hoping to have tonight's massive match won inside 90 minutes but having already claimed two trophies this season after spot-kicks - the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup - they will be well aware that it could come down to who can keep their composure from 12 yards.
And Milner, who scored and took Liverpool's first penalties in those successes over Chelsea, has confirmed his number in the order, and explained why, should he be on the pitch after 120 minutes against Madrid.
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"The first final we reached was the League Cup against Manchester City in 2016," Milner told the Daily Mail when speaking to Jamie Redknapp. "It was the manager’s first year and my first. I was listed as the fifth penalty taker but didn’t get to take one because we’d lost. From then on, I’ve said, ‘I want one’."
Milner added that a few Reds players alongside himself have been practising penalties before every game this season due to the away goal rule being removed in the Champions League and the belief that more ties will be decided from the spot.
"Me, Mo [Salah], Fabinho and a few of the lads practise before every game. We’ve done it all season. With the change to the away-goals rule, we predicted there would be more shootouts, so we’ve practised more. The club brought in these neuro11 guys [a company in Germany that coach penalty-taking].
"You’ve got players who may never take a penalty apart from in a shootout. The ball doesn’t move. The goal doesn’t move. So it’s making them think about their process rather than it being: ‘Oh, by the way, you’re taking a penalty, off you go’."
