"Manchester Evening News" points out that Manchester United's defeat to Hull City was not due to a lack of fighting spirit, but rather poor execution and tactical mistakes from Carrick. This was also why Hull City secured their first-ever victory over the Red Devils in history. Furthermore, Hull City's manager clearly exploited United's weakness when facing five-at-the-back formations.

Both of Hull City's goals came from set pieces, which were preventable. Luke Shaw admitted after the match that the team should have prepared better for this fixture—a concerning statement. Bruno Fernandes also expressed his frustration: "Just like last season, we keep making the same mistakes in every away game."

United struggled to break down Hull City's deep defensive block. Jakirovic had constructed a system that was extremely difficult to penetrate: well-organized, physically fit, and proficient at creating threats from set pieces.

Jakirovic outmaneuvered Carrick tactically, exploiting United's inherent weakness against five-at-the-back formations.

Regarding his tactical approach, he said: "During transitions, we shift our shape to give our wing-backs space, then flood bodies into the box."

"Because Luke Shaw pushes up so high and United also tries to overload the midfield, our main task is to exploit the gaps that appear between their defensive lines."

Hull City's assistant coach Dean Holden added: "Sergey has been thinking about using a five-at-the-back system for the past three or four weeks. He didn't want to reveal this tactic during pre-season, so we played with four at the back."

"During our preparations, we reviewed footage of Milan's match, and Leeds United also used a back-three formation last week, which gave us a reference point. Their setup was very similar to what we envisioned."

Including pre-season friendlies, Carrick has now lost five matches as United manager. Four of those defeats came against teams using five-at-the-back formations: a 1-2 loss to Leeds in April, a 0-1 defeat to Wrexham, a 2-4 loss to AC Milan, and this 0-2 defeat to Hull City.

In another defeat in March, the opposition at St. James' Park did not use five at the back but instead employed a deep defensive block. United still could not break through their defense and ultimately paid the price.

When asked whether his tactical system has a weakness when facing teams using five-at-the-back formations, Carrick replied: "We haven't lost many games in the past six or seven months. Yes, we lost today, and I understand there will be many questions from outside, but losing one game doesn't mean everything is completely wrong."

"We did many good things, and there were some positive moments on the pitch today, but they were overshadowed by the result. The outside world doesn't see these things, but we know them well. Of course, we have exposed many issues when facing different formations."

"We must find solutions. But losing one game doesn't mean we have to completely dismiss all our work. I understand that the outside world will have this perspective, but that's just reality."

However, Carrick has consistently struggled against opponents using five-at-the-back formations, which is no coincidence and has become a clear pattern that the coaching staff must address.

United found it difficult to contain Hull City's wing-backs, who, once given space on the flanks, delivered relatively dangerous crosses for the relatively inexperienced Oli McBurnie. A similar situation occurred in the final pre-season match against AC Milan, where Samuel Chukwueze, operating as a right-back, caused numerous problems for United's defense.

During the match, Luke Shaw and Mazraoui were frequently drawn out of position, leaving the center-backs exposed. If Hull City could exploit this weakness, then stronger opponents will certainly do the same.

The good news is that United will face Ipswich at Old Trafford in the next round. Ipswich plays with a four-at-the-back formation, so United should be able to control the tempo of the match better than they did last weekend.

There's no denying that the defeat to Hull City was a shock. Expectations for United were high heading into the new season, and everyone hoped the Red Devils would make a winning start. However, the match against Ipswich is an opportunity for the team to bounce back.

Since taking over in January, Carrick has found success with relatively straightforward tactical adjustments, such as switching to a 4-3-3 formation and reintegrating Kobbie Mainoo into the starting XI. The lineup deployed this past weekend offers another opportunity to achieve a similar positive result.

Dalot, Yoro, Mainoo, Rashford, and Sesko should all be given opportunities to start in order to prevent opening-day disappointment from escalating into a more serious crisis.

This is how United can recover in the short term, but the tactical challenge of dealing with five-at-the-back formations will not disappear.

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