Carrick admits system flaws after Manchester United fall to Hull on opening day

Manchester United began their 2026/27 Premier League campaign with a 2-0 defeat to newly-promoted Hull City at the MKM Stadium, and manager Michael Carrick conceded afterwards that his team have identifiable problems when facing sides who set up with a back five.

Hull drew first blood in the 17th minute through Semi Ajayi, and Nobel Mendy doubled the advantage before half-time with a close-range header from a free-kick. United failed to threaten in the second half despite Carrick introducing several substitutes, leaving the visitors without a shot on target in a result that will raise early questions about the club’s title credentials.

Carrick was measured but candid in his post-match assessment. “We came here to win as we do in any game,” he said. “So to not take anything away is hugely disappointing. It’s not more than that. It’s not less than that. It’s just one game that we’re disappointed we haven’t won.”

Hull manager Sergej Jakirović confirmed he had specifically chosen a five-man defensive shape to neutralise Carrick’s approach, and when pressed on whether that system exposed a tactical weakness, the United manager did not entirely deflect the point. “There’s definitely issues playing against different systems,” Carrick admitted. “So we’ve got to find the answers for that.”

He was, however, keen to contextualise the result within a broader run of form. “We haven’t lost many games in six, seven months,” he said. “I get it, we’ve lost today, and I understand there are questions to be asked, but it doesn’t mean everything’s wrong because we’ve lost a game.”

On suggestions that United were passive throughout, Carrick pushed back on the framing while accepting the performance fell short. “That doesn’t mean you’re passive just because you get beat,” he said. “We can be better, we will be better. There’s things we can be much better at. There’s things that were actually alright that get lost in the result.”

The defeat is United’s first competitive fixture under Carrick in the new season, and Hull’s opening-day victory represents one of the more eye-catching results of the Premier League weekend, with the promoted side keeping a clean sheet against one of the division’s pre-season favourites.