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Manchester United endured the worst possible start to their Premier League campaign as they were beaten 0-2 by newly-promoted Hull City away at the MKM Stadium on Saturday.

Michael Carrick’s call to begin with Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos in midfield failed to pay off, while Matheus Cunha was not used effectively in attack.

Bruno Fernandes was clearly furious after the final whistle and spoke candidly to TNT Sports. The club captain said United’s display brought back memories of the team’s poor away performances from last season.

“The same mistakes as we did last season in every away game. We give too much of the ball to them. I think they have, in the beginning of the game, the first 20 minutes, the goalkeeper was the one that had more touches on the ball. He had too much time.

“I think we need to press a little bit more. We need to be a little bit more aggressive. And then, again, set plays, we need to work on it, to be more aggressive, and try to not concede this type of goals. Obviously, against teams like this, they’re waiting for that moment.”

The fact that the skipper believes the side has still not learned from those problems does not reflect well on Carrick or his coaching staff.

There were naturally questions over whether the 20-time English league champions had taken Hull lightly. The Portugal international did not agree with that suggestion.

“No, we knew. If someone didn’t know, it’s very surprising, because we know in the Premier League this type of away grounds are very difficult to play against.

“You need to match everything in levels of intensity and aggression and everything. We had that. Apart from that two set pieces that end up costing us the game.”

Supporters were left frustrated by the result. In spite of INEOS’ slow work in the market, the mood around the club had been positive because of the team’s encouraging displays under Carrick and a respectable pre-season.

However, this defeat has certainly taken the wind out of the fanbase, though the 31-year-old called on the Old Trafford faithful to continue backing the team.

“I understand the frustration. Obviously, every season that starts we want to compete and we want to go as forward as we can winning every game. We need them on our side like we did last season. We need them to believe in us. But obviously, we know that we need more also from ourselves.”

United will be back in action next week against another newly-promoted team, Ipswich Town, in the club’s first home match of the season. They will hope to deliver a much better performance.