Brendan Rodgers had high praise for summer signing James Milner after the Liverpool no.7 scored the winning goal in a 2-1 friendly win over Brisbane Roar.

However he was not the only strong performer on Friday, with the likes of Danny Ings, Joe Gomez and Divock Origi strenghtening their claims for regular first-team football at Anfield this season.

But it was Milner who stood-out the most. Despite only joining the club a few weeks ago, he has immediately settled into his new surroundings - developing a promising relationship with fellow midfielder Jordan Henderson, with Rodgers joking that the pair could run from Brisbane to Adelaide they have that much energy.

"The work James and Jordan put into a game, how they press, how they run, but also the quality [in their game] is excellent," the Reds boss said about the industrious duo in his post-match press conference.

"We wanted more goals from midfield and that was the idea with [signing] James because when he plays in a central area he can really penetrate the box.

"He got in there a number of times and had a couple of shots that went close and then he got his goal. He is a top-class operator and playing in this team, he will probably shine even more."

Rodgers believes Milner will be a "huge" player for Liverpool

Asked to comment on where he plans to use Milner this season, the manager responded: "Players will always have a favourite position. Sometimes when you are such a great professional, you can get moved about. It is an attribute that's good to have as a player.

"But every player wants to play in their main position and James probably suffered a little bit [at City] from being such a good player and such a good footballer.

"He played at right-back, wide on the left, wide on the right, as a striker and a midfielder. 

"Probably the best season James ever had was at Aston Villa when he was playing as a central midfielder.

"He is going to be huge for us and working close at hand with him I can see why he is regarded as such a top-class professional."

Rodgers keen to get pressing philosophy back

Liverpool's performances dropped in intensity last year, as they became too easy to beat - leaving them sixth at the end of the campaign.

But so far in pre-season, they have been more reminiscent of the 2013-14 campaign, with their highly-energetic forwards leading the press from the front. 

And Rodgers insisted that it has been vital to get back to the style of play that harrassed and pressured opponents into mistakes two seasons ago.

He added: "It was key to return to that [pressing]. Look at the players we've brought in.

"Look at how Clyne presses the game and gets tight. Gomez, even at left-back, gets up to people, the same as when he plays centre-back. Again, you have got a midfield that can go and press and get up to the ball.

"We've still bits to work on, the dynamic and co-ordination of all of that, but you have started to see signs in these first couple of games that we are starting to return to that level."

"I was really pleased with my players at this period of pre-season with the intensity in their game and how hard they worked, as well as the quality of the goals.

"It was a wonderful night in a great stadium with great supporters. I thought it was a really enjoyable game."

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About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.