James Milner is still going strong for Liverpool at the age of 34.The Englishman is an integral part of Jurgen Klopp's squad and he was handed a start for the Reds' Champions League curtain raiser versus Ajax last night.Milner operated on the left of a midfield three alongside Gini Wijnaldum and Curtis Jones, delivering a typically assured performance to help secure a crucial 1-0 win for Liverpool.The Englishman worked tirelessly to nullify Ajax's array of exciting attackers and without him, Klopp's side would likely not have kept a clean sheet in Amsterdam.Milner won 16 ground duels, the most of any player on the pitch, made five interceptions - once again, more than any other player - and won 100% of his aerial duels.Milner in action vs AjaxBut while those stats are eye-catching, they're nothing compared to the distance covered by the age-defying midfielder in the Johan Cruijff ArenA.After the game, a graphic appeared on social media detailing that Milner had ran 12.63km during his 90 minutes in Amsterdam, 1.3km more than his nearest teammate - which was Wijnaldum.The guy is not only a beast, he's a role model for all young footballers. Few players in the professional game work harder to maintain their physical fitness than Milner.Lest we forget, this was a guy who was playing Premier League football at the age of 16 and it's only through his lifestyle choices that he's still operating at such a high level 18 years later.Following the game, Milner was asked for his opinion on Jones' performance after the Liverpool youngster was hauled off at half-time and replaced by club captain Jordan Henderson.

"He's a very good player," Milner replied. "I'm sure it will be the first [start] of many. He didn't know he was playing until quite late yesterday.

"He's a very good player. Thought he did well.

"It was no reflection on him coming off at half-time. I'm sure it will be the first of many, many European nights for him because he's a top top player."

A class act on and off the pitch.