By David Woods

20th Oct, 2016 | 4:55pm

John Aldridge: This player is the difference-maker for Liverpool

By Alex Stevens

Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has said that Adam Lallana has become an increasingly important player for Liverpool and can make the difference in games like the 0-0 draw with Manchester United.

In his column in the Liverpool Echo, Aldridge said that fans should take the positives from the game and praised Lallana’s Performance.

“We didn’t really have anybody who hit the heights, but when Adam Lallana came on the game was a lot different, our movement was better and we began making inroads as United tired a little bit.

“That Klopp put faith in Lallana despite him having barely trained in the days before the game underlines how important the England man has become to the way Liverpool play.

“Not having Lallana or Gini Wijnaldum in the midfield hurt us as it affected the balance in the engine room.”

Lallana limped out of the Premier League game against Swansea on October 1 in the 23rd minute.

He had recovered enough to start on the bench in the game against Manchester United on Monday evening, but Klopp didn’t want to risk him from the start.

Jose Mourinho’s United came to defend on Monday and Liverpool, with Daniel Sturridge spearheading the attack, couldn’t break them down.

Lallana replaced Surridge in the 60th minute and Liverpool looked more dangerous straight away, but they didn’t manage to get the all-important goal and had to settle for a point.

Liverpool have had a good start to the season though, and are currently in fourth place in the table, with just one loss away to Burnley.

They face West Brom at Anfield on Saturday, where a win could be good enough to take them to the top of the table.

In other Liverpool team news, fans have taken to Twitter after news that this key midfielder is set for his return to the first team.