Manchester United's season could not have got a worse start after the Red Devils lost 2-0 to newly promoted Hull City in the opening fixture of the Premier League. 

Bryan Mbeumo had the first big chance for United in the 13th minute after a lofted Luke Shaw cross found the Cameroonian, who struck his volley sweetly but was denied by Konstantinos Tzolakis.

In the 18th minute, Hull took the lead. Ollie McBurnie found himself free in the box following a corner, but his shot was saved by Senne Lammens. However, the second ball was won by Semi Ajayi, who thumped the ball home from close range.

Hull doubled their lead thanks to Nobel Mendy, who got onto the end of a free-kick from Regan Slater and his header beat Lammens. After that, Michael Carrick's side struggled to create anything of note as the Tigers took all three points.

Compared to the early results in pre-season, where it looked like the side made a tactical evolution, the recent loss to AC Milan and now this loss have exposed major flaws in the team's tactics.

However, away from just tactics, Carrick would be justified in being frustrated by his side, who were outperformed in every aspect by Hull. 

Speaking after the game, the United manager believes that despite the disappointment, this loss will not define the team.

He said: "Some of it was okay, there are bits to improve on. It was never going to be perfect, but going back and giving ourselves a lot to do makes it more difficult.

"It was a typical one of those games, with a newly-promoted team at home. You can't give them much, they've got a lot to hold on to.

"After that, we had moments and opportunities but we didn't have the spark to put the chances away or create any more.

"We're bitterly disappointed with the result, but we won't let it knock us."

Even when United won in pre-season, let alone the recent losses, the blueprint to score against the Red Devils was clear to see. 

Any type of cross, whether it was set-pieces like today or from wide areas, seems to cause serious issues for the United defence in a way that we have not seen since the 24/25 season, where goals from these areas were inevitable. 

A lack of physicality is one thing, but the lack of urgency from players to win second or third balls was, in many ways, scary to see, as it was not a one-time thing. It was consistent across the game. 

Furthermore, trying to defend against sides with wing-backs is something tactically Carrick needs to work out, as despite all the major positives of his coaching, against these systems is where the club have struggled the most.