Hull beat Manchester United on Premier League return

Hull City beat Manchester United 2-0 at the MKM Stadium on Saturday, winning on their return to the Premier League after a nine-year absence and beating United in the top flight for the first time.

Semi Ajayi put Hull ahead in the 17th minute, reacting first when Oli McBurnie's shot came back off the post. Nobel Mendy made it 2-0 in the 38th minute, heading in Regan Slater's free-kick delivery on his competitive debut for the club. Neither goal was answered.

United had the ball for most of the afternoon and did very little with it. Opta Analyst recorded 71.6 per cent possession for the visitors, their highest share in a league game since September 2023, along with 21 shots, five of them on target, and 34 open-play crosses — their most in nearly eight years. Konstantinos Tzolakis made five saves in the Hull goal, the last of them from Bryan Mbeumo late on.

Marcus Rashford came on at half-time, back at United after a loan spell at Barcelona, but the substitution did not change the pattern of the game. Michael Carrick, in his first opening day as United's permanent manager, told Sky Sports it was "never going to be perfect, but going behind and giving ourselves a lot to do makes it more difficult."

The result carries some weight in the record books. It is Hull's first Premier League win over United in 11 attempts, and their first league win over them of any kind since November 1974, when the sides met in the second tier. It is also the first time United have lost an opening-day league fixture to a newly promoted side.

Hull were widely expected to struggle this season and set up accordingly, defending in a low block and taking their chances from set pieces. Both goals came from dead-ball situations, with Slater involved in each.

Around the opening round

Arsenal began the defence of their title on Friday night with a 3-0 home win over Coventry City, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard scoring. Saturday's other results were Everton 2-0 Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town 2-1 Sunderland, Nottingham Forest 0-1 Leeds United and Brentford 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur, where Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode scored for the hosts.

The round is completed by three Sunday fixtures — Brighton against Aston Villa, Manchester City against Bournemouth and Newcastle against Liverpool — and Chelsea's visit to Fulham on Monday night.

The season has started a week later than usual, pushed back by this summer's World Cup. The transfer window stays open until 31 August, so both of Saturday's sides still have time to add to their squads before the deadline.

Sources: Sky Sports, Opta Analyst, Yahoo Sports, Al Jazeera, NBC Sports, worldfootball.net, Brentford FC.