Magnficent Rice looks destined for the very top

Five things we learned from last night's draw.

Adam Lallana still has a big part to play for Liverpool

After a January transfer window filled with rumours regarding an Anfield departure for Adam Lallana, the England man made a surprise return to Liverpool’s starting line up for the first time since October here.

And the walking, talking Cruyff turn made a quick impact as some typically fancy footwork paved the way for Liverpool’s opener at the London Stadium.

Lallana was withdrawn after 69 minutes as Jurgen Klopp threw on Xherdan Shaqiri as he went in search of a winning goal but Lallana, who offers something quite different to any of Liverpool’s other midfield options, showed that he could well prove to be a genuine asset as the season’s run-in gathers pace.

There was a time when Lallana, who arrived from Southampton for £25m in 2014, was a cornerstone of the manager’s plans and, at 30, he has plenty left to give.

Declan Rice is a top-four player in the making

The young midfielder seems to get better and better with every game.

He signed a new five-and-a-half-year deal at West Ham in December and it already looks like one of the best bits of business the east London club has done in years.

However, don’t expect Rice to become a one-club man like his midfield partner here, Mark Noble. Given Rice’s performance against Liverpool, the 20-year-old looks like a player destined for the very top.

He squandered a good chance to score from a free header just before half time and such a miss might have rattled a lesser player.

But he came out even better in the second half and was one of the main reasons that Liverpool struggled so badly to create all evening.

He is without a doubt one of the most promising player in the Premier League and it will surely not be too long before West Ham cash in.

Liverpool should have kept hold of Nathaniel Clyne

In the absence of the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, James Milner started at right-back for Liverpool and had a difficult evening up against Felipe Anderson down the left.

The official line is that Alexander-Arnold is on the verge of a return and it will not come a moment too soon.

But his absence makes Liverpool’s decision to allow another England right-back, Nathaniel Clyne, to join Bournemouth on loan during January all the more baffling.

Although he had made only four Premier League appearances for the Reds before his temporary departure, Clyne would be more than useful to Jurgen Klopp during the manager’s ongoing defensive injury crisis.

Clyne had emerged as one of the best full-backs in European football and letting him leave in any capacity looks a more bizarre decision with every passing week.

Three months is a long time in a title race

Since Manchester City handed Liverpool the chance to open up a seven-point lead by losing to Newcastle last month, it looked as though the title race was just about done and dusted — even Pep Guardiola admitted that he thought his side’s challenge was over.

But Liverpool failed to beat Leicester 24 hours later and they are now just three ahead of City after dropping two points here.

Whatever might happen over the next 12 weeks, it’s probably wise not to count either of the two frontrunners – or even Tottenham – out until about April at the earliest.

Both Liverpool and City look capable of bottling the big opportunities, never more so than last night when the Merseyside club looked nervous and toothless against a reasonably average West Ham side.

Slightly embarrassing error in West Ham’s programme for the game against #PL leaders LIVERPOOL. The accompanying A4 piece of paper should ensure that anyone who wouldn’t have noticed definitely will. #WHULIV pic.twitter.com/r5D5JgbCqu

— Edward Elliot (@EdwardJElliot) February 4, 2019

New subs are needed on the West Ham programme desk

West Ham made a fairly miserable start to this fixture before a ball had even been kicked after getting their opponents totally wrong in the matchday programme.

The readers were treated to Manuel Pellegrini’s traditional manager’s notes, which welcomed Arsenal to the London Stadium instead of Liverpool.

The piece also made reference to West Ham’s FA Cup victory over Birmingham – which took place a month ago.

An A4 piece of paper carrying the correct page was eventually handed out with the erroneous tome and customers were offered a refund.

Even so, you’d expect most Hammers fans went home happy with such a well-earned point.