Man United beaten 2-0 as Hull makes dream return to Premier League

Man United beaten 2-0 as Hull makes dream return to Premier League 1 of 4 | Hull City’s Nobel Mendy, right, celebrates scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Hull City and Manchester United in Kingston upon Hull, England, Saturday Aug. 22, 2026. (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA via AP) 2 of 4 | Manchester United’s Harry Maguire, left, and Hull City’s Oliver McBurnie in action during the English Premier League soccer match between Hull City and Manchester United in Kingston upon Hull, England, Saturday Aug. 22, 2026. (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA via AP) 3 of 4 | Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha, second right, heads the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Hull City and Manchester United in Kingston upon Hull, England, Saturday Aug. 22, 2026. (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA via AP) 4 of 4 | Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo, left, and Hull City’s Matt Crooks in action during the English Premier League soccer match between Hull City and Manchester United in Kingston upon Hull, England, Saturday Aug. 22, 2026. (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA via AP) 1 of 4 | Hull City’s Nobel Mendy, right, celebrates scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Hull City and Manchester United in Kingston upon Hull, England, Saturday Aug. 22, 2026. (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA via AP) 1 of 4 Hull City’s Nobel Mendy, right, celebrates scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Hull City and Manchester United in Kingston upon Hull, England, Saturday Aug. 22, 2026. (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 4 | Manchester United’s Harry Maguire, left, and Hull City’s Oliver McBurnie in action during the English Premier League soccer match between Hull City and Manchester United in Kingston upon Hull, England, Saturday Aug. 22, 2026. (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA via AP) 2 of 4 Manchester United’s Harry Maguire, left, and Hull City’s Oliver McBurnie in action during the English Premier League soccer match between Hull City and Manchester United in Kingston upon Hull, England, Saturday Aug. 22, 2026. (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 4 | Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha, second right, heads the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Hull City and Manchester United in Kingston upon Hull, England, Saturday Aug. 22, 2026. (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA via AP) 3 of 4 Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha, second right, heads the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Hull City and Manchester United in Kingston upon Hull, England, Saturday Aug. 22, 2026. (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 4 | Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo, left, and Hull City’s Matt Crooks in action during the English Premier League soccer match between Hull City and Manchester United in Kingston upon Hull, England, Saturday Aug. 22, 2026. (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA via AP) 4 of 4 Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo, left, and Hull City’s Matt Crooks in action during the English Premier League soccer match between Hull City and Manchester United in Kingston upon Hull, England, Saturday Aug. 22, 2026. (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Hull made a dream return to the Premier League after a nine-year absence, beating Manchester United 2-0 on Saturday to puncture any preseason optimism surrounding the 20-time champions.First-half goals from Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy at set-pieces consigned United to a tepid loss to a team that was promoted via the second-tier Championship playoffs at the end of last season and is widely expected to be among the relegation candidates.United finished third last season to secure a return to the Champions League, rewarding interim manager Michael Carrick with a fulltime contract as well as a new midfield in Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos. Marcus Rashford has come back from a loan spell at Barcelona and came on as a halftime substitute.They struggled to impress along with many other players in a lackluster team display that showed United — last a Premier League champion in 2013 under Alex Ferguson — still has far to go to recapture its former glories and is unlikely to challenge for the title, at least on this evidence anyway. There are four more games Saturday, including big-spending Tottenham at Brentford and another promoted team, Ipswich, at home to Sunderland.Arsenal began its title defense by beating Coventry, the second-tier champions last season, 3-0 on Friday.___Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80___See AP’s full soccer coverage here