But the versatile former Manchester City man was quick to poke fun at his own misfortune after Liverpool qualified for the Champions League final on Wednesday.
The Reds progressed 7-6 on aggregate following a 4-2 second-leg defeat to Roma, in which Milner unwittingly netted the Serie A side’s first goal – Dejan Lovren’s clearance thumping against the 32-year-old’s head and beyond goalkeeper Loris Karius.
Taking to Twitter shortly after full-time, Milner asked: “Anyone got any tips for getting a Champions League logo off a face?”
Speaking to BT Sport, he added: “The first goal was ridiculous – you could do that 1,000 times and it’s not going to happen again.”
The result sends Liverpool – for whom Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum found the net at the right end – into the final against Real Madrid in Kiev on May 26.
But Milner insisted he would not be celebrating his side’s progress to the showpiece with a glass of red wine.
“Maybe for a few of the boys,” he said. “You know me, I might stretch myself out to a Ribena or something.”
As it turned out, he had to wait on joining the celebrations anyway, as he revealed on Instagram that he had been pulled away for drug-testing.
“Looked like great scenes in the dressing room… I heard them from the drug testing room!” Milner wrote.
A post shared by James Milner (@jamesmilnerofficial) on May 2, 2018 at 3:16pm PDT
The Reds have not been champions of Europe since 2005, while Madrid have won the last two editions of the tournament.
