08/22/26 08:32:00
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08/22 08:30 CDT 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
By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer
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.
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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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See AP's full soccer coverage here
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