“I’m gonna miss you” – Reality hits for Robbo but ‘once a Red, always a Red’

It was a day for tributes, farewells and tears at Anfield and Liverpool players had plenty of love to share for their departing team-mates after the final home game.

The performance on the field and the final result against Aston Villa was not what we had all hoped for, but when it came time to saying farewell the Reds excelled.

There were tears shed, moments savoured and a time for reflection. Anfield provided the perfect backdrop as fans delved into the Reds’ songbook for the final time on home soil this season.

Roberto Firmino and James Milner, in particular, were given a farewell fit for legends and the outgoing No. 7 had touching words to say with only one game left as a Liverpool player.

“I’ve loved every minute here,” he told LFCTV. “Unbelievable club, the size of the club, the history before you come in, and we’ve managed to create our own history.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, May 20, 2023: Liverpool's James Milner during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Aston Villa FC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

“I’m Leeds through and through and always have been and always will be – but I never probably thought that another club would get into me as much as Liverpool has.

“That says everything about the place and the fans and the history and what we’ve created here, but also the group of people.”

The vice-captain would later take to Instagram to commemorate his final Anfield outing, and it left Andy Robertson saying “I’m going to miss you James” as team-mates flooded his post with comments:

Alisson was next up to hail his national compatriot and “brother” Bobby, with their touching embrace one of the images of the afternoon:

Virgil van Dijk, Harvey Elliott and Kostas Tsimikas all signed off from Anfield with messages of their own – and how about that new kit?!

As Elliott noted, it was an emotional day and the send offs for the departing players were touching as another era comes to a close at Liverpool:

After a long nine months, there is only one game left on the schedule for Liverpool and one last chance to say goodbye. Next stop, Southampton.