Fernandes slams United for repeating last season's away mistakes in Hull defeat

Bruno Fernandes did not hold back after Manchester United were beaten 2-0 by newly-promoted Hull City at the MKM Stadium in their Premier League opener, accusing his teammates of repeating the same defensive and pressing failures that undermined them away from home last season.

Hull took the lead on 17 minutes when Oli McBurnie forced a fine save from goalkeeper Senne Lammens, only for Semi Ajayi to slam home the rebound. The hosts doubled their advantage shortly after through Nobel Mendy, who guided in Regan Slater’s free-kick on his debut. United attempted to respond in the second half — Marcus Rashford showed some brightness and Bryan Mbeumo created a couple of openings — but they never seriously threatened to get back into the game.

Speaking post-match, Fernandes was blunt in his assessment. “Same mistakes as we did last season every away game,” the United captain said. “We give too much of the ball to them — in the first 20 minutes the goalkeeper had more touches on the ball, too much time. We need to press a little bit more, be more aggressive, and set-plays — we need to work on it, to be more aggressive and try not to concede these types of goals.”

Fernandes acknowledged that United had been warned about Hull’s aerial threat from dead-ball situations. “We knew before the game that set-pieces would be a big part of their game. They played a full pre-season with a back four, then went against us with a back five — also to have some height, also for these moments. The most frustrating thing is that we lost the game.”

Hull manager Michael Carrick, facing his former club for the first time, was measured in his response. “Some was okay, bits to improve on. It was never going to be perfect today but going behind and giving ourselves a lot to do makes it more difficult. With a promoted team at home, we can’t give them much. We had moments but not that spark to put the chances away. We’re bitterly disappointed with the result today but it won’t knock us.”