LIVERPOOL, United Kingdom (AFP) — Liverpool Manager Arne Slot said “results don’t lie” after a three-game losing streak as he called for defensive improvements ahead of Manchester United’s visit to Anfield on Sunday.

The Premier League champions won their opening seven games of the season in all competitions, but poor performances were masked by a series of late goals.

Liverpool suffered defeats to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray in the Champions League and Chelsea before the international break, leaving them to fall one point behind title rivals Arsenal.

After romping to the title last season, Liverpool splashed out nearly £450 million ($604 million) on new signings, paying club-record fees for Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, neither of whom have yet scored a Premier League goal.

At the other end of the pitch, Slot’s men have conceded two or more goals in four of their seven Premier League games.

“We’ve played 10, won seven and lost three. The three loses were by close margins,” Slot said at his pre-match press conference on Friday.

“But as I keep saying, we should not be dependent on such margins.

“Results don’t lie — if you lose three in a row then you have to do better. We are aware of that and we have to react.”

Mohamed Salah’s sensational form propelled Liverpool to the title last season, but the 33-year-old Egyptian has so far struggled to adjust to the changes made to the side during the transfer window.

Slot pinpointed a lack of game-changing moments from his star-studded forward line and problems at set pieces.

“We haven’t created as many chances as last season and there’s a reason for that — the playing style of the opponent, and we have to find answers to that,” he said.

“The first answer is not to concede as many goals as we did. If a team scores one or two goals then we need three goals.

“In the first half of last season we mainly got these goals from a special moment from one of our front three. The second half [of the season] we needed set pieces against a low block.

“This season we haven’t had those special moments and we haven’t scored from set pieces.

“It’s clear that conceding four goals from set pieces is far too much for a team that wants to compete.”

Goalkeeper Alisson Becker remains out with a hamstring injury, but there was better injury news for Liverpool as Ryan Gravenberch is fit to face United despite coming off injured for the Netherlands during the international break.