The five big problems toothless Manchester United must fix

 Hull City shocked a lacklustre Manchester United to mark their return to the Premier League in style after a nine-year absence.

Goals from Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy earned the hosts a 2-0 win and led to wild scenes as United suffered an opening-round defeat to a newly promoted side for the first time in their history.

Here, Telegraph Sport breaks down the problems that Manchester United must solve.

Soft touch at the back

United struggled to deal with crosses all afternoon and it was significant that both goals they conceded came from set-pieces.

On each occasion, they failed to handle the venomous deliveries put in by Hull’s wing-backs. The tactic from Hull seemed to be that if they could miss out Harry Maguire, who endured a tough afternoon against his old club, they could expose the rest of United’s defence.

United are also still chasing a left-back to challenge Luke Shaw, who struggled against Elliot Stroud.

Far too predictable

Much had been made of United’s new-look midfield of former Aston Villa player Youri Tielemans and ex-Chelsea man Andrey Santos. Tielemans was recruited to add drive, quality and a streetwise touch to United’s midfield, with Santos meant to be a direct replacement for the departed Casemiro.

But for all the pre-match hype, they faltered badly. The pair’s midfield partnership will need much more road-testing if United are to become a force capable of looking like a top-four side, never mind matching the likes of Arsenal’s title-winning midfield.

United looked predictable and one-dimensional. The hope is that after agreeing a fee in the region of £70m to sign Brighton’s Carlos Baleba on Friday evening, they can add some dynamism in the middle of the park which is so clearly lacking.

No focal point

While every Hull player won their individual battles all over the pitch, Manchester United’s XI looked lost.

This was clear up front, where United lacked any creative intuition. Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha are both excellent players individually, but their link-up play was almost non-existent and they failed to make any impact.

Patrick Dorgu was so poor that he was subbed off at the break. Even when Benjamin Sesko was thrown on for Santos, United’s service to him was either poor, or his own skills were found badly wanting.

Out of possession, Hull reverted to a resolute back five which United struggled to penetrate.

The Carrick factor

Manager Michael Carrick was quick to downplay his side’s opening-round defeat. He knows even sterner tests lie ahead – and that he will ultimately be expected to launch a tilt at the top four, even if a title challenge looks very optimistic.

United face another promoted side in Ipswich Town next week and the pressure to hit the ground running even this early in the season has gone up a notch. Given they are returning to Champions League football, United are likely to play upwards of 50 games this season, which presents another challenge for Carrick when managing his players’ minutes.

After a summer where English football has been forced to do some soul-searching when it comes to the dearth of home-grown managers, this season could make or break him.

There will also be some United fans who very much hope that it is not an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer-style situation after the Norwegian struggled once he had been handed the reins permanently.

Impotence on the flanks

For a club brought up on a rich pedigree of brilliant men out wide – from George Best to Steve Coppell to David Beckham and Ryan Giggs – United lacked any pacey attacking threat from either wing.

Carrick has spoken of the front-footed style of play he wants his team to embrace, but it was non-existent against Hull.

Even when Marcus Rashford was brought on to shore up United’s attack, nothing changed and they were incapable of choreographing anything of note.