Man United beaten 2-0 as Hull makes dream return to Premier League

Hull made a dream return to the Premier League after a nine-year absence, beating Manchester United 2-0 on Saturday to puncture any preseason optimism surrounding the 20-time champions.

First-half goals from Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy at set-pieces consigned United to a tepid loss away to a team that was promoted via the second-tier Championship playoffs at the end of last season and is widely expected to be among the relegation candidates.

United finished third last season to secure a return to the Champions League, rewarding interim manager Michael Carrick with a permanent contract as well as a new midfield in Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos. Marcus Rashford has come back from a loan spell at Barcelona and entered as a halftime substitute.

They struggled to impress along with many other players in a lackluster team display that showed United — last a Premier League champion in 2013 under Alex Ferguson — still has far to go to recapture its former glories and is unlikely to challenge for the title, at least on this evidence anyway.

"We have a bit to improve on — it was never going to be perfect," Carrick said.

"One game doesn't change the direction of everything," he added. "It doesn't change the direction of the football club."

There are four more games Saturday, including big-spending Tottenham at Brentford and another promoted team, Ipswich, at home to Sunderland. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham was watching his favorite team, Everton, at home to Crystal Palace.

Arsenal began its title defense by beating Coventry, the second-tier champion last season, 3-0 on Friday.

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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

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