After the soaring success of Michael Carrick’s interim reign, his first season in permanent charge started with a plummeting low.The 2-0 defeat to Hull City was bad not just for puncturing the positivity around Manchester United, or for meaning Carrick’s team remain on zero points, but for the manner of the performance.United played the game as if it was a pre-season friendly, at a casual tempo with minimal penetration and limited decisive movements. Hull were, unsurprisingly, the opposite, playing with urgency on the ball and seizing the opportunity to hurt United at set pieces. On their first time back in the Premier League in a decade Hull won 50 duels, on the ground and in the air, to United’s 35. One of those was Bryan Mbeumo letting Regan Slater steal in to win possession for the opening goal.Hull also laid out in a back-five, where the wing-backs stretched the width of the pitch to then put dangerous crosses into the box. It is a handful of games, but that approach has proved problematic for Carrick’s team.That was the system AC Milan used last weekend in their 4-2 friendly win over United, when quick switches of play, mainly to the right flank, proved effective. Wrexham won their pre-season game 1-0 using wing-backs – their goal coming from a low cross from left to right with a man free at the far post.More pertinently, Leeds operated in the same formation in their 2-1 victory at Old Trafford in April, attacking down the sides and firing over crosses.Hull mainly played a back-four last season but turned to a back-five at half-time of a trip to Norwich in November, winning 2-0. They used it away to Millwall in the Championship play-off second leg, then in the final against Middlesbrough at Wembley too.Hull charismatic manager’s Sergej Jakirovic explained why he chose it for their Premier League opener. “Because Man United is coming very high with Luke Shaw,” he said. “Also they try to overload midfield. So the first hour our main task is to close this gap between the lines, and then when we steal the ball we are very vertical, very quick.“Also in those transitions we try to switch the side, because our wing-backs are completely alone, and then get numbers in the box. We had two very good chances, and also we didn’t allow any one-to-one 100 per cent chances from Manchester United.”Jakirovic said he had seen “problems” with Carrick’s side that Hull could exploit (Photo: Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)Ryan Giles set a marker with a terrific cross from the left, hit early, that Ollie McBurnie rose to meet with a strong header palmed out by Senne Lammens.Asked whether he was surprised by United’s inability to apply pressure later on, Jakirovic said with a smile, not wishing to get drawn into commenting on others: “This is tricky question.” He added: “Of course we watch Man United three times, one time live, and we saw their problems, and we tried to use this.”