Man Utd caught napping in defence & all over shop in attack… only one man is to blame for Hull loss: Michael Carrick

HULL fans have not long stopped playing ‘Rockin’ All Over The World’ at the MKM Stadium. Manchester United have been beaten 2-0 by Hull City – this was Hull’s first-ever top-flight win against United. Michael Carrick is the man to blame for Manchester United’s 2-0 loss to Hull Credit: Reuters Ayden Heaven faced a difficult test and played right into Oliver McBurnie’s hand Credit: Reuters It is also the first time in United’s history they have lost to a newly-promoted side on the opening day. Defensively, the visitors were poor, dozing for both goals. Sign up for the Man United newsletter Thank you! The man responsible for their set-up was Michael Carrick, who opted for a right-footed, left-footed combination at centre-back alongside a solid back three. That set-up meant Ayden Heaven was always going to face a difficult selection test. As United’s rawest defender, Heaven played right into Oliver McBurnie’s hands. McBurnie pinned Heaven for the first goal and Senne Lammens did remarkably well to make the initial save, but he couldn’t do anything about the rebound. Heaven was often at the scene of the crime when opponents scored. He was caught watching the ball a couple of weeks ago when Ibrahim Mbaye scored against United in a 1-1 friendly defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS As far as the defence goes, United aren’t expected to make major moves before the transfer deadline on September 1, other than potentially bringing in a new left-back to compete with Luke Shaw. The backline will likely be overhauled next year, but they currently have five senior centre-backs available, all technically fit with Matthijs de Ligt now back in full training. Both right-backs, Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot, were available today as well. Starting Mazraoui wasn’t a headline-grabbing selection, but he is essentially a squad player who only managed 11 starts in the entirety of last season, making it a dubious call. In midfield, two debutants started. Youri Tielemans told us in Ireland last week that his body switched off at the World Cup and it certainly wasn’t switched back on today. He was slow and plodding, looking like a player who arrived late and lacked a proper pre-season – which is understandable given Belgium’s run to the quarter-finals. However, he clearly needs to get up to speed as he left Andrey Santos completely exposed as a consequence. Patrick Dorgu was pulled at half-time for a troublesome first 45 minutes Credit: Reuters In attack, almost everyone was pretty much in the wrong place apart from Bruno Fernandes. Bryan Mbeumo, who started five but appeared in all six of their pre-season games through the middle, was deployed on the right wing. Matheus Cunha, who got an hour up front against AC Milan last week, stayed up front isolated against three central defenders – a role he is ill-suited for. Meanwhile, Patrick Dorgu, who does not convince on the left wing whatsoever, stayed out wide. He has started every game under Carrick on the left wing and had been getting by after he managed to score in his previous three starts against Manchester City, Arsenal, and Brighton. But today, he was rightfully hooked at half-time for Marcus Rashford. Almost as bad as United’s shambolic first-half performance was their complete lack of productivity in their second-half performance. Aside from the one-on-one chance Bryan Mbeumo had where the goalkeeper made a good save, they never gave their travelling supporters any real belief that they could salvage the game. Semi Ajayi handed Hull the lead before Nobel Mendy doubled it just over 20 minutes later Credit: Reuters It said it all when six minutes of stoppage time flashed up on the board and a lot of United fans were heading straight for the exits without breaking stride. And unfortunately for them, the trains back to Manchester were cancelled. Comment now