Hull City Shocks Manchester United with 2-0 Victory
Hull City 2–0 Manchester United: Carrick’s new era jolted
Manchester United’s season began not with a statement, but with a slap in the face.
At a raucous MKM Stadium, Hull City – back in the Premier League for the first time since 2017 and missing 10 players through injury – tore into United and walked away with a fully deserved 2-0 win. Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy struck in the first half, and that was enough to expose just how fragile United’s supposed title challenge looks.
Hull were meant to be patched up. Makeshift. Vulnerable. Instead, they were vibrant, aggressive and fearless, swarming United from the opening whistle and punishing every hesitation.
Ajayi landed the first blow, capitalising on United’s slack defending to put Hull in front and ignite the home crowd. Mendy followed, his finish doubling the lead and leaving United looking stunned, short of ideas and even shorter of belief.
The afternoon also belonged to a teenager. Lucas Herrington, the highly rated Socceroos defender signed from Colorado Rapids in a deal worth a reported $A33 million, made his Premier League debut. The 18-year-old came on in the 64th minute and immediately looked at home, reading danger, stepping into tackles and helping Hull see out the game with an assured display that will only fuel calls for him to start regularly.
For United, the questions are already piling up. Third last season, tipped to push champions Arsenal, they showed almost nothing to suggest they can live with Mikel Arteta’s side over 38 games.
Yet Michael Carrick refused to erupt.
“We came here to win so to not take anything away is hugely disappointing. It is not a nice feeling but it is not going to change our direction as a team or a club,” he said, pointedly avoiding the kind of public fury that consumed Ruben Amorim before his sacking last season.
“You have to carry on as normal. We just don’t all have to shout and scream and create some chaos. Calmness doesn’t mean there is not emotion.”
Calm words. Brutal scoreboard. United already look like a side chasing Arsenal’s shadow.
Tottenham’s £200m rebuild torn apart
If United’s defeat stung, Tottenham’s was an embarrassment.
More than £200 million spent. Five new signings involved. And a 3-0 hammering at Brentford that laid bare the gulf between money spent and problems solved.
Roberto De Zerbi threw his new toys straight into the starting XI. Sandro Tonali, Andrew Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke all began the game, with Mateus Fernandes introduced after the break. On paper, it looked like a refreshed, hardened Tottenham after last season’s last-day escape from relegation.
On grass, Brentford ripped them open.
Keith Andrews’ side, built on a fraction of Tottenham’s budget, played with clarity and conviction. Keane Lewis-Potter struck first, Vitaly Janelt added a second before half-time, and the visitors were chasing shadows in west London.
When Michael Kayode made it 3-0 after the interval, the score finally reflected the pattern of the game. Tottenham’s structure fell apart, their press looked disjointed, and their expensive rebuild was left looking cosmetic rather than transformative.
It could have been uglier. Igor Thiago stepped up from the spot with Brentford already three goals clear and the chance to make it four, only to miss the penalty and spare De Zerbi an even more savage opening-day scoreline.
For a club that only just escaped the drop last season and then spent heavily to avoid a repeat, this was a brutal reminder: spending is easy, building a team is not.
Sage’s Palace brought back to earth at Everton
At Goodison Park, Crystal Palace’s new era began with a thud.
Pierre Sage, hired off the back of a superb season with Lens that brought a second-place finish in Ligue 1 and a French Cup triumph, walked into a club still glowing from Oliver Glasner’s tenure. Under Glasner, Palace lifted the FA Cup in 2025 and the UEFA Conference League last season.
His first Premier League assignment ended in a 2-0 defeat to Everton.
Palace actually controlled long spells of the game, but the breakthrough came at the other end. In the 42nd minute, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall robbed Daniel Munoz and drove a fierce strike into the far corner past Dean Henderson, a goal completely against the run of play and exactly the sort of moment that can unnerve a new manager.
Any hopes of a response vanished early in the second half. Thierno Barry powered in a bullet header from Iliman Ndiaye’s 53rd-minute cross, and Everton never looked like letting the lead slip.
For Sage, it was a blunt introduction to English football: possession without punch, punished ruthlessly.
Glasner’s Forest start with late heartbreak
Oliver Glasner’s new chapter began with no comfort from his old reputation.
Now in charge of Nottingham Forest, the Austrian watched his side fall 1-0 at home to Leeds at the City Ground, undone by an 88th-minute free-kick from Anton Stach that squirmed past goalkeeper Matz Sels.
Forest had battled, Leeds had hung in, and the game looked destined for a stalemate. Then came Stach’s low effort, Sels’ misjudgment, and a late winner that silenced the home crowd.
The two clubs will meet again almost immediately, with Leeds facing Forest in the League Cup second round on Tuesday. Glasner will not need reminding that another defeat would raise the temperature quickly.
Ipswich announce their return in stoppage-time style
Portman Road has waited a long time for a day like this.
Ipswich, back in the Premier League, marked their return with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Sunderland that unfolded like a perfect script for new boss Gary O’Neil, who replaced Kieran McKenna in the summer.
Emersonn opened the scoring with a debut goal in the 24th minute, settling nerves and sending the home support into full voice. Sunderland refused to fold. Nilson Angulo levelled in the 39th minute with a superb free-kick, and from there the match tightened, every challenge and chance soaked in tension.
Just when it seemed Ipswich would have to settle for a point, Jack Clarke stepped up in the 90th minute. His curling finish sealed the win and detonated celebrations in the stands, a late strike that felt like a statement: Ipswich are not just here to make up the numbers.
City without Pep, Liverpool without Salah, Arsenal already rolling
The rest of the opening weekend carries its own intrigue.
On Sunday, Manchester City begin life after Pep Guardiola. Enzo Maresca, the man tasked with following the most successful manager in the club’s history, takes charge for the first time against Bournemouth. Every touch, every tactical tweak will be scrutinised for signs of what this new City might be.
Liverpool also step into a new identity. Mohamed Salah has gone, Andoni Iraola has arrived, and the former Bournemouth boss faces Newcastle in his first match in charge. A new manager, a new attacking focal point required, the same relentless expectations.
Arsenal, at least, have already delivered the kind of opening statement their rivals could only envy. The champions brushed aside promoted Coventry 3-0 at the Emirates on Friday, a controlled and emphatic start that underlined why everyone else is chasing them.
On the first weekend of the season, the hierarchy usually feels hazy. Not this time. Arsenal look ready. Manchester City and Liverpool are reinventing themselves. Manchester United and Tottenham are already under pressure.
How long before early-season jitters harden into something far more dangerous?
