Michael Carrick was left “bitterly disappointed” after his Man Utd side fell to a shock 2-0 defeat at Hull City on Saturday.
The Tigers got their Premier League campaign off to a dream start at the MKM Stadium when Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy both scored in the first half.
The Red Devils were abysmal in attack, and though they ended the game with 21 shots, they failed to create much of consequence.
United fans’ misery was compounded by the fact that the trains to Manchester were cancelled, leading to chants of “you’re going home in a taxi” from the home crowd.
Carrick admitted in his post-match interview that his team “didn’t have the spark” that they did last season when he initially came in as caretaker boss.
Carrick ‘bitterly disappointed’ as Hull shock Man Utd
“Some of it was okay, there’s bits to improve on,” he told TNT Sports. “It was never going to be perfect, but going behind and giving ourselves a lot to do makes it more difficult.
“It was a typical one of those games, with a newly-promoted team at home. You can’t give them much, they’ve got a lot to hold on to.
“After that, we had moments and opportunities but we didn’t have the spark to put the chances away or create any more.
“We’re bitterly disappointed with the result, but we won’t let it knock us.”
Carrick said lessons will be learned from the defeat, though he would not elaborate on what Man Utd need to improve.
“I’m not going into areas [to improve] now, it’s for us to know and we’ll improve through the week and in the games.
“When we keep getting stronger as a group, that’ll come. Today’s a game we can’t ignore, we have a lot to learn from it – but we will.”
Carrick added: “It’s one game, the first game of the season. It hurts, of course, but it’s one game. It doesn’t change the direction the team or the football club is going in. We’ll stay calm and in the bubble and focus on next week.”
Man Utd have reportedly agreed a £70 million transfer fee with Brighton for Carlos Baleba, but Carrick remained tight-lipped about the deal.
“I had all eyes on the game today. Any other player at any other club, I won’t be commenting on.”
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