Michael Carrick angrily dismissed a reporter’s “ridiculous” suggestion that Manchester United lacked passion after their disastrous Premier League defeat to Hull City.
The Red Devils’ new campaign began in miserable fashion on Saturday as newly promoted Hull secured a stunning victory at the MKM Stadium, immediately puncturing the optimism that had surrounded Carrick’s side over the summer.
But the United boss bristled when former Premier League striker Jan Age Fjortoft questioned whether his players had been outfought.
Speaking to Viaplay following the final whistle, Fjortoft asked: “Would you accept that there was a lack of passion in the first half?”
Carrick immediately fired back: “Oh come on, that’s ridiculous.”
When Fjortoft attempted to clarify his question, the United manager remained unimpressed.
“Come on, you played football, you understand, that’s a ridiculous thing to say,” Carrick responded.
“Just because you got beat doesn’t mean you don’t care about it.”
Michael Carrick angrily dismissed a reporter’s “ridiculous” suggestion that Manchester United lacked passion after their disastrous Premier League defeat to Hull City
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VIAPLAY/PA
Fjortoft stressed he was not accusing United’s players of being indifferent, instead suggesting Hull had displayed greater intensity.
Carrick rejected that assessment too, pointing instead to the manner in which the hosts scored.
“No, no. Their two goals came from set plays. Other than that, we had opportunities,” he said.
“That was where the game was. I don’t think it was passion or anything to do with that. I think it was just their moment that made the difference in the game.”
“Come on, that’s ridiculous.”
Michael Carrick wasn’t happy when asked if there was a lack of passion from #mufc in their first half vs Hull.
via @ViaplayFotball pic.twitter.com/zyca5r5iSr
— utdreport (@utdreport) August 23, 2026
Those moments proved devastating for United.
Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy both punished Carrick’s men from set-piece situations as Hull celebrated a memorable victory on their return to the top flight.
Carrick acknowledged those defensive failures require attention but insisted there would be no overreaction after only one game.
“We’ve been decent over a period of time at dealing with them, and today we didn’t,” he added.
“We can look into that, we can dissect it. We certainly won’t get carried away with the positives or the negatives. We never do.”
The result represents an early setback for Carrick after an encouraging summer at Old Trafford.
Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos were handed Premier League debuts as part of United’s revamped midfield, but both were substituted during the second half with their side two goals behind.
United are also poised to add Carlos Baleba to Carrick’s options, with the Brighton midfielder set to arrive in a £70million deal.
Hull were impressive as Man Utd lost on the opening day | PA
The scale of Saturday’s disappointment was heightened by Carrick’s impressive record after taking charge in January.
He suffered only two defeats across his 17 matches as interim boss and successfully guided United back into the Champions League, earning the opportunity to oversee their latest rebuild.
Carrick had already attempted to temper expectations before the season began, describing suggestions that United could challenge for the Premier League title as “a jump”.
Their opening performance will do little to change that assessment.
Hull entered the season having secured promotion through the Championship play-offs and assembled their squad on a significantly smaller budget than their opponents.
Yet it was the hosts who took advantage when it mattered, leaving United empty-handed and Carrick facing uncomfortable questions immediately after the opening weekend.
