"Is this how you open a season?" ONE asked pointedly after Manchester United's return to Premier League action ended in humiliation at the MKM Stadium, where newly promoted Hull City beat Michael Carrick's side 2-0 to open the 2026-27 campaign.
It was a stunning start for Hull, who were back in the English top flight for the first time in nine years, and a grim one for United, who arrived at the seaside-adjacent stadium in East Yorkshire as the visitors expected to make a statement rather than suffer one.
Hull took the lead in the 17th minute. Regan Slater's corner was only half cleared, Oliver McBurnie's follow-up effort cannoned back off the woodwork, and Semi Ajayi reacted fastest to poke the rebound home from close range.
The hosts doubled their advantage just before the break. Slater again supplied the delivery, this time from a free kick, and Nobel Mendy rose above United's defence to power a header past the goalkeeper and make it 2-0 at half-time.
Carrick responded by sending on Marcus Rashford at the interval in search of a route back into the game, and United did enjoy the better of the ball after half-time, according to reports of the match, with nearly 70 percent possession in the second period.
But territory rarely translated into danger. Hull's back line stayed compact and organised, and goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis produced a crucial late save to deny Bryan Mbeumo the goal that might have set up a grandstand finish.
Instead, Hull held on comfortably for a result that will be replayed on highlight reels for weeks: a club fresh off promotion putting one of England's grandest names to the sword on the opening weekend.
For United and Carrick, the defeat means the pressure that always attends the club starts early this season, with questions about the team's cutting edge and its ability to break down a well-drilled defence following them into next weekend's fixture.
For Hull, it was a dream return to the top flight — the kind of afternoon that instantly turns Ajayi and Mendy, both scorers on the biggest stage the club has occupied in almost a decade, into local heroes.
