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Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney slammed the "schoolboy" defensive error made by Luke Shaw during Saturday's damaging loss to Hull City. Even more troubling, however, was the familiar pattern that the 2–0 defeat followed.
United were overpowered, outthought, and outclassed by the newly promoted Tigers on their home turf. Semi Ajayi gave the hosts a well-earned lead in the 17th minute from a corner, before Nobel Mendy doubled the advantage on his debut with another set-piece goal.
Rooney was particularly critical of United's failure to deal with the second goal in the 38th minute, pointing the finger at Shaw for playing Mendy onside by dropping too deep too soon when defending a wide free kick.
"This is schoolboy defending from Luke Shaw," United's record scorer fumed on Match of the Day. "Man Utd had a good line, Hull would have been planning for this all day, Luke Shaw drops in, he's five yards behind his backline and if the ball is good enough, which it was, it's impossible to stop.
"Hull had a gameplan, they were getting balls into the penalty box, picking up second balls and Man Utd found it very difficult."
Hull Provide Blueprint for Man Utd Opponents
Beyond the set-piece vulnerabilities, Rooney highlighted how Hull became the latest team to expose United's weaknesses in open play by simply deploying a pair of wingbacks. Leeds United had considerable success against Carrick's side last April using this system, while AC Milan cruised to a 4–2 preseason win by exploiting the same defensive flaws.
The ultimate irony is that Ruben Amorim spent his entire 14 months as Manchester United head coach attempting — and failing — to get the Red Devils to adopt that very same formation.
"I watched the AC Milan game last week and they [Hull] played the same system," Rooney noted. "They played with wingbacks and Man Utd really struggled to deal with that. Maybe Hull have seen that game last week and changed it and I think fair play if that's the case because they looked a really good team today."
United captain Bruno Fernandes bitterly noted that Hull had played with a back four throughout preseason, rather than the back five that caught his teammates off guard on Saturday. Tigers boss Sergej Jakirović revealed that the tactical switch was made specifically to exploit the space left by United's left back: "Because Manchester United is coming very high with Luke Shaw."
Shaw is given the freedom to push forward from defense to support attacks, with Carrick betting that the offensive contribution outweighs the defensive risk of being outnumbered at the back. By deploying wingbacks — who are naturally wider and more attack-oriented than conventional fullbacks due to the extra center back behind them — Hull were perfectly positioned to punish Shaw's forward runs after winning possession.
"When we steal the ball, we are very vertical, very quick. In those transitions, we try to switch the side because our wingbacks are completely alone, and then get numbers in the box," Jakirović explained candidly. "We had two very good chances, and also we didn't allow any one-to-one 100% chances from them."
Fellow promoted side Ipswich Town are United's next opponents. Given the success Hull enjoyed with a back three system, their tactically astute manager Gary O'Neil may well be tempted to adopt a similar approach. Carrick's efforts to address the weaknesses in his squad are just one of the challenges he now faces.
Teething Problems in Man Utd's Evolution Under Carrick
After spending half a season stabilizing the club following Amorim's disastrous reign, Carrick had earmarked this campaign as an opportunity for growth. The one consistent bright spot throughout United's post-Sir Alex Ferguson struggles has been their ability to hurt teams on the counter. What no manager has managed to reliably produce, however, is any other consistent route to goal.
The arrival of an entirely new midfield pairing had raised hopes of United imposing greater control in games against sides like Hull, who were willing to sit back and concede possession. Yet Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos were repeatedly bullied off the ball by Hull's physical midfielders, who pressed aggressively rather than sitting off entirely.
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On the rare occasions when the hosts were content to circulate the ball in their own half, United failed to capitalize on what appeared to be a vulnerable backline.
"They [United] sat in a mid block, didn't get any pressure on the ball," Rooney lamented. "I think they won two balls in Hull's final third, there needs to be more energy in the press, how they go and win the ball back. Today was all too passive."
United indeed managed just two high turnovers, the fewest of any Premier League club across the opening two days of the new season.