Carrick urges calm after Manchester United start season with 2-0 defeat at Hull

Michael Carrick urged Manchester United to remain composed after his side started the season with a 2-0 defeat at Hull on 22 August 2026, the head coach said while calling for improvement after the opening-day loss.

United lost their opening game for the fourth time in the past seven years as Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy scored from set-pieces, taking advantage of poor defending, and Hull — who finished sixth in the Championship last season — were described as deserved winners after a match in which United barely threatened for the full 90 minutes.

Carrick presented a professional exterior after the defeat but acknowledged the need for change, saying: "I’m talking to you quite calmly, but I’m not exactly calm inside and enjoying the day, so there’s a big difference." He added: "I played [for United] for a long time. You don’t get to play here for a long time without just going day by day, the results, the ups and downs, but you just carry on as normal."

The head coach rejected an overreaction but insisted the squad must respond on the pitch, saying: "It’s 100% not that, and trust me, it’s not that. It just doesn’t mean that we all have to shout and scream and come out and create some chaos just because of it. Inside we’re hurting and we need to get better. But the calmness doesn’t mean there’s no emotion in it, for sure." He later said: "The result’s the result. We got beat, we’re hurt and it’s not a nice feeling. It doesn’t mean it’s going to change the whole direction of how we’re going as a team or as a football club."

Bruno Fernandes criticised the team’s approach and set-piece defending after the defeat, saying: "Same mistakes as we did last season, every away game. We gave too much of the ball to them, in the first 20 minutes the goalkeeper had more touches on the ball, too much time. We need to press a little bit more, be more aggressive, and set-plays – we need to work on it, to be more aggressive and try not to concede these types of goals." His assessment underlined United’s limited threat during the match.

Hull’s head coach, Sergej Jakirovic, said he and his backroom staff had identified a weakness in United’s set-piece defending but would not reveal the detail, declining to divulge his "secret". Supporters at the match sang "are you watching Joe Cole?" after a pundit had mocked Hull’s chances of survival, and Jakirovic said: "I don’t have any problems with critics with opinions. We tried to prove them wrong and today we won the game."

"Now it's 37 to go, so we will try to continue like this. I’m very, very happy because of all the people in the club."