Bruno Fernandes said Manchester United had failed to learn from last season's mistakes after the team opened their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 defeat by newly-promoted Hull City on Saturday.
Hull scored twice from set pieces in the first half and comfortably held their lead. United dominated possession but created little, with Bryan Mbeumo seeing two efforts saved. New signings Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos endured poor debuts, and Marcus Rashford, introduced at half-time, could not make an impact.
'Same mistakes as last season'
United captain Fernandes was visibly frustrated and carried that into his post-match interview with TNT Sports. "Same mistakes as we did last season, every away game we give too much of the ball to them," he said. "In the first 20 minutes, the goalkeeper was the one with the most touches."
"We needed to press more, be more aggressive, and then again we need to work on set-plays and not concede these type of goals. Against these types of teams, they are waiting for that moment."
Fernandes added: "We knew before the game set-pieces would be a big part of their game. They played all pre-season with a back four but had a five against us for some height, for these moments. The most frustrating thing is that we lost the game."
Carrick's first game in charge
The match was Carrick's first as United's permanent manager, a stark contrast to the optimism that followed his arrival as interim boss in January and a third-place finish last season.
"Some of it was okay, there's bits to improve on. It was never going to be perfect, but going behind and giving ourselves a lot to do makes it more difficult," Carrick said. "It was a typical one of those games, with a newly-promoted team at home. You can't give them much, they've got a lot to hold on to. After that, we had moments and opportunities but we didn't have the spark to put the chances away or create any more."
He said the team was "bitterly disappointed" but would not let the result knock them. "It's one game, the first game of the season. It hurts, of course, but it's one game. It doesn't change the direction the team or the football club is going in. We'll stay calm and in the bubble and focus on next week."
