Manchester United began their 2026-27 Premier League campaign with a 2-0 defeat at newly-promoted Hull City, conceding twice from first-half set-pieces. Semi Ajayi opened the scoring after a save from Senne Lammens denied Oli McBurnie at a corner, and Nobel Mendy headed in Regan Slater's free-kick 21 minutes later. United failed to mount a fightback despite substitutions, with Bryan Mbeumo going closest in a one-on-one. The defeat marked Michael Carrick's first competitive match as permanent manager.
Dorgu's struggles on the left
Patrick Dorgu, who had been effective as a left winger last season before injury, was dreadful in the first half. He lost possession multiple times, lost six of his seven duels, committed four fouls, and completed no successful dribbles. He was replaced by Marcus Rashford at half-time, a change that came too late to alter the outcome.
Mbeumo pushed out wide
Bryan Mbeumo, who impressed in a centre-forward role during pre-season, was shifted to the right to accommodate Matheus Cunha through the middle. Cunha dropped too deep, and the tactical set-up failed. Mbeumo looked the most dangerous forward for United but was not used effectively. Carrick could have kept Mbeumo central, moved Cunha to the left, and found a makeshift option on the right.
Defensive and midfield errors
Leny Yoro, United's best defender in pre-season, was benched in favour of Ayden Heaven alongside Harry Maguire. Heaven was bullied throughout, and Maguire was caught holding his own team-mate Noussair Mazraoui as Ajayi scored. Mazraoui also underperformed, and Diogo Dalot should replace him against Ipswich Town next Sunday.
The midfield pairing of Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos, which struggled against AC Milan last weekend, was retained and failed to cover ground. Both lasted just 67 minutes. Carlos Baleba, signed for £70million, may need to provide more mobility in combative away matches.
