Hull beat Manchester United at MKM Stadium on Saturday as set-piece and attacking issues trouble Carrick’s side
Hull defeated Manchester United at the MKM Stadium on Saturday, scoring twice in a 21-minute spell to claim victory and expose weaknesses in United’s defence and set-piece handling. The result represented a damaging start for the visitors and drew scrutiny of Michael Carrick’s side beyond their backline.
Hull had scored nine league goals from set plays last season, the joint-fewest in the Championship, yet two from set pieces inside 21 minutes earned them a famous win over Manchester United on Saturday. Michael Carrick had warned before the game it “would not be easy,” and Opta placed United’s chance of victory at 68.9% before kick-off; the fixture was one United were widely expected to win.
United struggled to cope with Oli McBurnie as Hull’s target man and conceded from set pieces, with slack defending on those situations a clear fault line. The manner of the defending on the goals and the inability to handle aerial deliveries were painful to watch and will draw focus.
The visitors’ attacking output was a bigger concern than raw possession or shot volume. Opta recorded Hull’s expected goals at 1.01 to United’s 1.83, but United’s 21 shots included 16 worth less than 0.1 expected goals each. Their open-play shots were worth an average of 0.104 expected goals in 2025-26 — the third worst rate among teams that finished in the top half of the Premier League — and against Hull that figure fell to 0.087.
Not until the 78th minute did a clearly notable chance fall to Bryan Mbeumo, who received a through ball from Matheus Cunha. Before that, United’s highest-value opportunities were created by Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui; the pair have 16 top-flight goals between them. Hull had conceded the second-most expected goals in the 2025-26 Championship, yet United still found it hard to fashion high-value opportunities at the MKM Stadium.
Hull’s Sergej Jakirovic set up with a back five; he had deployed three centre-backs on 10 occasions last season, notably in victories in the playoff semi-final second leg against Millwall and the final against Middlesbrough. Opta’s shot map showed Hull conceded eight efforts in the “danger zone” — the centre of the penalty area from the six-yard box out to the 18-yard line — and five of those eight were headers. United have now won only one of their last six league matches against teams that started with a back three or five; Leeds won 2-1 at Old Trafford in April using a 3-4-3 and drew 1-1 two weeks ago in a pre-season friendly using the same system, while Milan beat United 4-2 in their final warm-up game employing the same framework.
“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,” Carrick said after the match. Marcus Rashford is far stronger. He should take Dorgu’s berth in the long term, assuming he remains with the club.