Jurgen Klopp said he felt alone after Liverpool fans were seen leaving Anfield after Scott Dann’s 82nd minute goal for Crystal Palace. So we asked a Dortmund supporter whether fans ever leave games early in Germany and if Klopp would have ever experienced such a mass exodus in the past. Here is the view of Dortmund fan Stefan Buczko of The Yellow Wall which is part of the Football Collective blogger network.

After Liverpool’s 2-1 home defeat by Crystal Palace Jurgen Klopp said that he felt left alone by some supporters. ‘The goal was on 82 minutes – 12 minutes to go – and I saw many people leaving the stadium. I turned around and, I watch my team and I felt pretty alone in that moment.’

Fans leaving the match minutes before the referee blows the final whistle isn’t exactly a new phenomena for the German coach. The reaction to poor performances or a bad result of the home side is a similar one in Germany.

It happens on occasion in the Bundesliga that boos and whistles reverberate around half-empty stands once the referee blows the final whistle. But shocking losses or atrocious performances are not always the reason for football fans to take their coat and head home early.

Liverpool fans head for the exit after Crystal Palace took a 2-1 lead at Anfield late on in Sunday's game

Regardless of the result, there will always be a couple of fans leaving a match prematurely and they usually are sneered at by the majority that follows the matches until the very end.

The reason are diverse as they are often simple. Some have seen enough and believe they know how the match will pan out, others want to avoid the tussle of tens of thousands of fans squeezing through the gates.

Or simply want to be ahead of the unavoidable traffic jams around football games. There were fans streaming out of the Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion on Sunday when the home team was defending a close lead 3-2 over fierce rivals Schalke.

Jurgen Klopp shows his appreciation to the fans who did stay until the end of Liverpool's defeat by Palace

One would think that football fans stay to the very end to watch a match where there is still everything to play - especially if they paid a considerable amount to attend the match in the first place.

So Klopp was hardly the ‘surprised one’ when he saw Liverpool fans heading to the exits. Yet the self proclaimed football romantic very much believes in the power of the fans, which is why his words were - as so often are - carefully chosen.

In Klopp’s ideal world, energy is sent back and forth, ricocheting between the players on the pitch and the fans. And the urge of the supporters helps his team win a match in difficult circumstances (such as trailing at home to Palace). Seeing fans leave early is very much the opposite of what the Liverpool coach is hoping for.

German fans are known for their passionate support but even at Borussia Dortmund Klopp will have experienced fans leaving games before the final whistle

It was not unusual for Klopp to urge Dortmund fans to celebrate successful tackles in midfield like goal celebrations ahead of important games, as he wants the fans to play their part and he is not afraid to use bold phrases to achieve that.

But Klopp still has some work on his hands if he wants to replicate the bond between fans and his team at Liverpool. In Germany it’s quite normal that teams line up in front of their most loyal fans after the match to celebrate wins or at least pay their respect for the support.

Juergen Klopp embraces Mainz fans during his time as manager between 2001 and 2008

It is not only good fun for everyone involved but creates an atmosphere of unity and togetherness. It is not unusual for players to climb into the stands and lead a chant by singing into a megaphone after special victories. It just feels that players and fans are closer in Germany.

Instead of going home, Borussia Dortmund’s fans sang ‘Whatever happens, we stand by you and sing for you Borussia’ for their team after a painful 1-0 loss to Hamburg in October 2014, which saw BVB in 13th place after seven matches, far behind their own ambitions.