Jürgen Klopp previously labelled Željko Buvač as “the brain” in his coaching team.
Liverpool suffered their third consecutive Champions League defeat on Tuesday night, as Red Star Belgrade beat last season’s finalists 2-0 in Serbia.
If it could be written off as a complete anomaly, a blip, then there would be no cause for concern. However, Liverpool fans are becoming more worried by a drop in intensity and urgency from the players.
They are no longer the swashbuckling attacking juggernaut that steamrolled teams last season. Something has changed. They are more solid defensively and more patient in their build-up, but not necessarily for the better.
A run of bad results in Europe and less convincing performances in the Premier League has led many fans to believe that the departure of Jürgen Klopp’s assistant Željko Buvač could be the leading cause behind the drop in form.
Buvač left Liverpool six months after working alongside Klopp for 17 years. It was reported that a dispute between Buvač and Klopp was the reason behind his decision to leave, but it remains unclear.
Since Buvac left Liverpool in the CL
Played:6
Lost:4
With Buvac
Played:11
Lost:0Our attack has been shite ever since Buvac left accept it or not. Klopp sort it out with him and bring him back
— ' (@B2BRole) November 6, 2018
Is it fair to say it was all Buvac and Klopp is a man manager?
— Sandeep (@Portatori_Acqua) November 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/VintageSalah/status/1059899724248047617
Liverpool haven't been the same since Buvac left honestly. pic.twitter.com/OqPYGpW4w1
— TheSalahRole (@TheSalahRole11) November 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/kovacsteve/status/1059924944690196481
Other fans are not as convinced that the coach leaving has caused Liverpool’s dip in intensity.
It's fucking mad how many of you lot think that Buvac going means he took all the ideas with him like he hasn't worked with Klopp for 20 ish years. They never ever talked about tactics in that time apparently.
— Dan (@DACrookster) November 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/harrypatto/status/1059880393942425602
https://twitter.com/charliegillno1/status/1059925200794542081
Klopp has previously said that Buvač was ‘the brain’ behind his Borussia Dortmund’s side while Klopp himself was ‘the heart’, which could suggest a decrease in attention to detail when it comes to tactics, but Klopp is no mug. He knows you can’t win on hugs alone, and will be doing everything possible to try to lift this Liverpool side back up to the levels we all know they can play at.
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