Hull City 2 Man United 0

23 Aug 2026 - THE OBSERVER / Sport

Rory Smith

The low point probably came after 73 minutes. Manchester United were losing 2-0 to newly promoted Hull City, the start of what is supposed to be Michael Carrick’s glorious restoration fracturing immediately upon exposure to sunlight. United had been soft-bellied and blunt-edged. In their corner of the MKM Stadium, their fans glowered and groaned.

Then the intercom crackled into life. “Manchester United fans travelling by rail from Hull Paragon station,” the announcement began. At that point, everyone knew it was not good news. Not with trains involved. The 15.03 and 17.03 back west, in this case, the announcer said. He left a comic pause. And then, with just a hint of relish: “They have been cancelled.”

It turned out to be one of those days, the kind that Manchester United thought they had left behind. Carrick’s arrival, back in January, had – possibly just a touch unexpectedly – brought an understated serenity to Old Trafford after the tumult of the Ruben Amorim era. And the Erik ten Hag era. And the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era. And the: well, you get the picture.

United finished last season with a spring in their step. Carrick won his first game, against Manchester City, and barely looked back.

The summer had been encouraging too. In a transfer market not so much inflated as entirely distended, United had found value: Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos, the pair of them for far less than the price of Elliot Anderson, followed by a smart, swift deal for Carlos Baleba, a long-term target.

Something had changed: this was serious, efficient business, identifying weaknesses and then addressing them. United approached the start of the season with a confidence that could not largely be traced back to a stubborn belief in the club’s preordained greatness.

At a rough estimate, that feeling survived about 17 minutes of actual football, when Semi Ajayi gave Hull the lead, instantly evaporating United’s hard-won tranquillity.

He had stressed on Friday that this game was not quite the gimme most had assumed – a newly promoted side, in an energised stadium, on the opening day of the season – but even he would have been surprised by the scale of Hull’s poise and purpose.

And that is important to remember. Carrick has spent most of his working life attached to Manchester United. He knows that the line between setback and outright crisis is so hazy as to be entirely indistinct.

But this was as much a win for Sergej Jakirović’s side as it was a defeat for their visitors; it was as much about Hull’s endeavour, adventure and courage as it was about the shortcomings of a side that, deep down, have been assembled to try and win the league.

Hull did not pick Carrick’s team’s pocket. They were obdurate and intelligent, but also more than that.

At one point, Oli McBurnie slalomed past four players; Ajayi’s best moment, after his goal, was a drop of the shoulder that drew applause from fans.