Dominik Szoboszlai says Liverpool have lost IMPORTANT ‘12th man'

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When Liverpool plays at Anfield, the atmosphere can be electric and it is well-documented how the fans can push the players on in times of adversity.

However, while the fans' support never fails, Dominik Szoboszlai feels the club is still missing their 'twelfth man' this season.

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For Szoboszlai, this twelfth man in question relates directly to the departure of Jurgen Klopp.

In an interview with Men in Blazers, he said: "Jurgen was the twelfth man on the pitch, so if he could then he would run onto the pitch and do some tackles or whatever.

"The new manager is more calm and he knows that what we have planned is going to work out somehow."

To illustrate just how involved Klopp was with his team, we only need to think back to the last-minute winner from Divock Origi against Everton at Anfield, where the ex-Liverpool boss ran on the pitch to celebrate with Alisson Becker.

Likewise, Klopp famously pulled his hamstring during Liverpool's last-minute winner against Tottenham Hotspur last season, also at Anfield. The man bled Liverpool, going through the same emotions every fan went through on the sidelines.

The transition to Arne Slot's management

In comparison to Jurgen, Slot acts in a much more emotionless manner on the touchline, standing quietly on the sidelines while admiring his tactics at work.

This is not to say Slot doesn't care, nor that he doesn't go through exactly what the fans do in the stands, more in the sense that the characters of the two coaches are different and the relationship that Klopp had with the club will take time for Slot to build, in his own unique way.

And Arne Slot's calm approach does not need to be viewed in the prism of one being better than the other. Slot's start to the season has been mightily impressive and although the system has changed in certain areas, it looks likely that Slot's ideas can find success on Merseyside too.

What seems most important to point out is that the way Liverpool play seems to have more control this season, in line with the calmness brought by Slot. The players spend more time on the ball, passing it around and figuring out exactly how they intend to pry open the opposition's defence, as opposed to Klopp's heavy metal approach of attacking the game head-on and feeding off of the emotion of the crowd.

While the lack of a 'twelfth man' may signify Liverpool to be worse off this season - it was always going to be different without the talisman of Klopp leading the team on the sidelines - Slot has proved that his approach can work just as well, so far.

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