Manchester United suffered a humiliating start to the
new Premier League campaign after newly promoted Hull City secured a convincing
2-0 victory at the MKM Stadium.
Michael Carrick’s side were stunned by first-half
goals from Nigeria international Semi Ajayi and Senegal defender Nobel Mendy as
Hull marked their return to the top flight in spectacular fashion.
Hull, playing in the Premier League for the first time
since 2017, were missing 10 players through injury but produced an energetic
and fearless display that exposed several weaknesses in United’s squad.
The defeat will raise early questions about Manchester
United’s ability to challenge for the Premier League title after finishing
third last season. There was little evidence at Hull that Carrick’s team are
ready to compete with reigning champions Arsenal.
United initially started brightly, with Bryan Mbeumo
forcing a strong save from Hull debutant goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis.
Matheus Cunha also tested the goalkeeper shortly afterwards with a low effort.
However, Hull soon grew into the game and began
exploiting United’s defensive problems, particularly from set pieces.
The hosts opened the scoring in the 17th minute. Oli
McBurnie escaped his marker from a corner and saw his effort parried by United
goalkeeper Senne Lammens. Ajayi reacted quickest to the rebound, poking the
ball into the net to spark wild celebrations among the home supporters.
United struggled to respond and missed a good
opportunity when Patrick Dorgu fired wide after being set up by Harry Maguire.
Hull then doubled their advantage in the 38th minute.
Regan Slater delivered a precise free-kick into the box, where Mendy rose above
the United defence to power a header past Lammens.
Carrick introduced Marcus Rashford at half-time in an
attempt to change the course of the match, but the England forward could not
inspire a comeback following his loan spell at Barcelona last season.
Hull remained dangerous after the break, with Mohamed
Belloumi coming close to adding a third, while United made midfield changes by
withdrawing new signings Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos.
Neither substitution could rescue the visitors, who
offered little attacking threat in the second half.
The result represents a major setback for Carrick, who
guided United through an impressive revival last season before being handed the
permanent managerial role. The expectations are now significantly higher, with
the club targeting their first English league title since 2013.
Carrick has already called for further reinforcements,
with United agreeing a deal to sign Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba. After
such a disappointing opening performance, the manager is likely to demand even
more from the club in the transfer market.
For Hull manager Sergej Jakirovic, however, the
victory was a dream start to life back in the Premier League and a powerful
response to pundits who had predicted the newly promoted side would struggle.
United now face an early test of character as they
look to recover from one of the most disappointing opening-day performances in
recent seasons.
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