Liverpool midfielder James Milner has revealed he still has a good feeling about Manchester City despite now viewing his former club as one of his biggest rivals.
Milner spent five years with the Blues after joining from Aston Villa in 2010 and helped the club lift their first Premier League title.
The former England international departed for Anfield in 2015 on a free transfer in search of regular first-team football after slipping down the pecking order under Manuel Pellegrini.
Liverpool and City are now fierce rivals after battling for the Premier League title last season and the two sides come head to head this weekend with City looking to cut the gap at the top of the table.
Milner revealed he had a great time at City and became a better player during his spell at the Etihad Stadium.
"I had a great time at Man City, and I was lucky enough to win every domestic trophy there, play with some great players and I became a better player there," he told This Is Anfield.
"I have nothing bad to say about the club. Obviously, now I think of them a bit differently because they’re big rivals but that good feeling is still there. They’re a big part of my career and a big part of my life as well.
"It’s great to be going toe to toe with them now. It was disappointing that they got one more point than us last year, but it shows what a great team they are as well.
"The fact you see where we were when I first signed and the transition and where we are now, going toe to toe with them it’s fantastic and hopefully we can keep pushing them and fight as hard as we can for the title this year."
Milner also opened up on his experience of playing against Liverpool while wearing a City shirt.
The Blues lost the battle back in the 2013/14, being defeated 3-2 at Anfield, but won the war by ultimately being crowned champions.
The 33-year-old spoke about being on the losing side that day and City's mentality in the title run.
He added: "But for me, at the time I was on the other side of the fence. It was an unbelievable game. [City] were two-nil down and got it back to two all and then Phil [Coutinho] scored that late goal from an uncharacteristic mistake from Vinny [Kompany].
"I just remember the atmosphere was incredible and from that point, we had to be perfect and we managed to do the job with some tough games left."
