'Come on, that's ridiculous' - Michael Carrick was not impressed with interview question after Man Utd's defeat to Hull

Michael Carrick was left unimpressed after a reporter asked if there was a "lack of passion" from his Manchester United side during the first half of their 2-0 defeat against Hull City.

United suffered an abysmal start to the new Premier League season on Saturday afternoon as first-half goals from Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy sealed all three points for newly-promoted Hull.

It was a lacklustre performance from the visitors, who were unable to match Hull's intensity throughout and offered very little going forward, despite starting the likes of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbuemo.

They also lacked an edge defensively, losing 63 per cent of their duels and two thirds of their headers in what was a sluggish, laboured performance in the first half.

After the full-time whistle, head coach Michael Carrick spoke to Viaplay reporter Jan Age Fjørtoft, who played for a host of clubs in England, including Swindon Town, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United.

Here, Fjørtoft asked Carrick whether he accepted that there was a "lack of passion" in the first half against Sergej Jakirovic's Hull.

"Oh, come on, that's ridiculous," Carrick replied.

Fjørtoft followed up on Carrick's response by asking if that's not how the United head coach assessed the opening 45 minutes.

"You played football," Carrick replied. "You understand, that's a ridiculous thing to say. Just because you get beat doesn't mean you don't care about it."

Moments later, Fjørtoft gave his take on the question. "I'm not saying that you cared about it," he said.

"I think if you look at it, because they came with passion, that's what I mean. I understand that you care about it, but would you accept that they took you on that front, so to say?"

Carrick then replied: "No. Their two goals came from set plays. Other than that, we had opportunities. That was where the game was. I don't think it was passion or anything to do with that. I think it was just their moments that made the difference in the game."

Wayne Rooney describes Bruno Fernandes' comments after Hull defeat as 'strange'

After the full-time whistle, a disappointed Bruno Fernandes said Manchester United were guilty of making the "same mistakes" as last season when playing away from home.

In total, the Reds won just seven of their away games across 2025-26, drawing eight and losing four.

"Same mistakes as we did last season, every away game," he said. "We give too much of the ball to them. I think they have, in the beginning of the game – first 20 minutes -- the [Hull] goalkeeper was the one who had more touches on the ball."

Fernandes added: "Too much time – I think we need to press a little bit more, we need to be a little bit more aggressive."

Speaking on Match of the Day, former United striker Wayne Rooney made his feelings clear on Fernandes' remarks.

"It’s a strange quote from Bruno [about United making the same mistakes away from home]," Rooney said.

"I think for Manchester United now to build on what they did last season, since Michael went in they finished third in the Premier League and got Champions League football, to build on that you have to become a team who teams are scared of playing against."