Ajayi and Mendy give Hull dream start against misfiring Manchester United

Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement 13 years ago, Manchester United have been stuck in football’s equivalent of purgatory and a chastening experience in Hull suggests they could be there a while longer. Michael Carrick’s permanent appointment was supposed to hail a new era at Old Trafford but very little has changed based on this defeat.

United were sluggish from start to finish and rightly punished for failing to defend set pieces with any degree of competence. Centre-backs Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy earned the Tigers the prized scalp upon their return to the Premier League while United are left to ponder if the squad requires more invasive surgery before the transfer window closes.

This was Hull’s first league win over United in the Premier League, and had not beaten their rivals in 52 years. There had been a nine-year wait for the Tigers to be back at this level and they proved themselves worthy, admittedly against a toothless United, who lost their opening fixture for the fourth time in the past eight seasons.

Even with relatively little time on the clock, it felt like a game that needed a flashpoint to ignite the season. Harry Maguire and Elliot Stroud clashed around the halfway line, with both feeling wronged by the other, but nothing was given. The perceived injustice provoked the home players and supporters, increasing the level of intensity from Hull, while United retreated in their shell.

Warnings came as Senne Lammens saved once from Oli McBurnie and tipped over a vicious Ryan Giles cross. Giles, however, brought a corner that United failed to defend properly at either post. It was whipped to the front and flicked to the back where McBurnie had space to shoot, then wheeled away celebrating but Lammens stopped it on the line, only for Ajayi to smash home only a second league goal for the club, creating chaos inside the Tigers’ enclosure.

McBurnie was causing nagging problems with relentless running and physicality as Ayden Heaven was welcomed to the perils of Hull. United, on the other hand, missed the presence of a striker, with Matheus Cunha nominated for the role of false 9, which allowed him to roam far and wide, spending as much time away from Hull’s three centre-backs as possible.

United looked like a side playing their first game of pre-season against an opponent midway through the campaign. An avoidable free-kick given away by Youri Tielemans resulted in another set-piece United had no hope of navigating. Regan Slater’s delivery was dangerous and the lack of desire for anyone in white to attack the ball allowed Mendy to head a debut goal from close range. If this was supposed to be the start of a new United era, the reality was a return to the passive days of Ruben Amorim and his band of miserable men.

The Hull fans celebrated the half-time whistle with joy, while half the away end was empty, as souls searched for a way to soothe the pain on the concourse. It gave Carrick time to think and plot radical change but only removed the cautioned Patrick Dorgu, sending on the returning Marcus Rashford, resplendent with No 9 on his back.

Carrick brought calm after replacing Amorim but playing with this much tranquility was naive. Tactics and natural ability need to be blended with fight and desire, traits not on display from United, who would have hoped for a promising start, especially with Ipswich at home next, but instead have increased the pressure on themselves.

Rashford was introduced to provide the previously absent spark and make the team less narrow and more expansive. He brought something akin to intent on the left wing, running at defenders who had walked through the first half but nothing was created as Konstantinos Tzolakis enjoyed a comfortable debut. It was a sign of how the day had gone for United when debutants Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, signed for a combined total of £85m, were withdrawn with 23 minutes remaining after struggling to get a foothold in the game.

Hull, who had the fourth worst defensive record in the Championship last season, did not need to attack in the second half and were happy for United to do their best conjuring act, which left their defence unperturbed, even after wholesale changes to freshen things up. The hosts deserved everything they received, through a mixture of quality delivery, aggression and organisation, three things United lacked. Football, bloody Hull.