Manchester United have lost their opening Premier League game of the new season to promoted side Hull City (2-0). Michael Carrick's team never recovered from conceding twice in the first half, created hardly any clear chances themselves and have made a false start.
For Manchester United, Patrick Dorgu got the nod ahead of Marcus Rashford. Manager Michael Carrick also handed midfielders Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans immediate debuts in his starting XI. Leiderdorp-born Noussair Mazraoui started too. Close friend Matthijs de Ligt, who was also born in the Alrijne Hospital, remains sidelined with a back injury.
After a quarter of an hour, Hull City carved out the first big chance of the match. Ryan Giles whipped the ball across goal and Oli McBurnie looked certain to score with a header. Senne Lammens had to stretch full length to prevent an early deficit.
Not long after, the home side did score. A flicked-on corner dropped at the back post for McBurnie, who shot from close range at Lammens. The Belgian goalkeeper diverted the ball onto the post, but Semi Ajayi reacted quickest and fired in the rebound.
In the 38th minute, the promoted side doubled their lead through Nobel Mendy. Regan Slater's free-kick was whipped dangerously into the penalty area, and the Senegalese defender diverted the ball into the net: 2-0.
United were in real trouble and had to respond after the break. They saw plenty of the ball against a stubborn Hull City side, but the big chances never came. Manager Sergej Jakirovic's team defended with everything they had to secure their first win of the season against a Manchester United side who lacked a cutting edge.
Even so, the Red Devils were fortunate not to be 3-0 down. Cody Drameh tried his luck from the edge of the penalty area, but his effort drifted narrowly wide. Manchester United's first truly big chance fell to Bryan Mbeumo. He was played through, but failed to beat goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis in a one-on-one.
A late onslaught brought nothing more for the visitors. So the Tigers held firm and pulled off a surprise straight away by beating last season's third-placed side 2-0.