Hull City's hidden back five and two Slater set pieces beat a flat Manchester United on opening day.
The numbers
| Manchester United | Hull City | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 71.7% | 28.3% |
| Shots | 21 | 8 |
| On target | 5 | 4 |
| xG | 1.83 | 1.01 |
| Corners | 6 | 1 |
| Pass accuracy | 87.9% | 70% |
Result the chances deserved: Manchester United 57% / 23% / Hull City 21% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Lammens, Mazraoui, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw, Tielemans, Santos, Mbeumo, Fernandes, Dorgu, Cunha.
Hull City (3-4-2-1): Tzolakis, Ajayi, Egan, Mendy, Coyle, Crooks, Slater, Giles, Belloumi, Stroud, McBurnie.
Hull City subs: McNair & Herrington (64', Ajayi & Mendy), Drameh (70', Coyle), Millar (71', Stroud), Targett (85', Giles). Hull head coach: Sergej Jakirović. Line-ups from Sky Sports and FotMob; FotMob and JMftbl have Hull in a 5-4-1 (3-4-3 with the ball), while Sky Sports listed them as a 4-2-3-1.
Key moments, move by move
- Slater swings in a corner, Hull City's only corner of the match.
- It reaches McBurnie at the back post. United's marking has lost him.
- McBurnie stretches to shoot and Lammens pushes it onto the post.
- Ajayi reacts first and crashes the rebound in from close range.
- Hull City win a free kick out wide, the situation Jakirović says they had worked on the day before.
- Slater curls an in-swinging ball into the space behind United's line.
- Mendy, the club-record signing on his debut, attacks it.
- His powerful header goes past Lammens.
A hidden back five and two rehearsed set pieces
- Hull City's plan: Jakirović switched to a back five he had kept hidden in pre-season: a 5-4-1 without the ball, a 3-4-3 with it. His reason was that United come "very high with Luke Shaw", so the job was "to close these gaps between the lines" (Yorkshire Post, Goal).
- United's shape: a 4-2-3-1 on paper, closer to a 4-2-4-0 with Cunha dropping off as a false nine, Santos as the 6 and Tielemans moving between levels (JMftbl). Nobody pinned Hull's three centre-backs, and 39 crosses found a teammate only nine times (Sky Sports).
- Set pieces decided it: Hull's 1.01 xG was 0.94 from set plays and 0.07 from open play. Both goals came from Slater deliveries, and Jakirović said the plan was to punish "how they're standing, especially on the wide free-kick".
- United's chances: 72% of the ball, 21 shots and 1.52 open-play xG, but eight shots were blocked and Tzolakis saved from Mbeumo twice (13' and 78'). The second was United's only real chance after half-time (Sky Sports).
Recreate it in FM26
Hull City · Hull City's hidden back five · 3-4-3Show cardHide card
Hull City's hidden back five
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Tzolakis | Goalkeeper | Line-Holding Keeper |
| RCB | Ajayi | Wide Centre-Back | Stopping Wide Centre-Back |
| CB | Egan | Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LCB | Mendy | Wide Centre-Back | Stopping Wide Centre-Back |
| RWB | Coyle | Wing-Back | Holding Wing-Back |
| RCM | Crooks | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Screening Central Midfielder |
| LCM | Slater | Central Midfielder | Central Midfielder |
| LWB | Giles | Wing-Back | Holding Wing-Back |
| RW | Belloumi | Inside Forward | Tracking Winger |
| LW | Stroud | Winger | Tracking Winger |
| ST | McBurnie | Target Forward | Target Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Passing DirectnessMore Direct
- Attacking TransitionCounter-Attack
- Goal KicksLong
- Crossing StyleHigh Crosses
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementMid Block
- Defensive LineDeeper
- Trigger PressLess Often
- Defensive TransitionRegroup
- Cross EngagementContest
The idea: Five across the back and a compact four in front shut the gaps that United's high left-back usually opens, then long balls to a target forward and set pieces do the scoring. You need tall centre-backs who attack the ball, a strong target man and one excellent set-piece taker.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce a wide free-kick routine designed around one opponent's marking.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Formation 4-4-2, Šeško on at half-time (for Santos), Mainoo on at half-time (for Tielemans). Two forwards to occupy Hull City's back three, then Šeško and Mainoo at half-time. United create more, but Hull's set-piece threat remains; it improves the odds without making United favourites. It moves Manchester United's win chance from 57% to 68% (xG 1.83–1.01 becomes 2.38–1.01). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Manchester United needed
Kobbie Mainoo
Hull City's 5-4-1 was built to close the gaps between the lines, and United's debutant pair of Santos and Tielemans rarely found them. Mainoo is United's best at receiving on the half-turn in tight spaces, and a week later against Ipswich Town he ran the midfield. Starting him gives United a way through the block by turning, not just by crossing.
Nathan Collins
Hull City's 1.01 xG was 0.94 from set pieces, and both goals came from Slater deliveries: a corner lost at the back post and a free kick attacked by Mendy. Collins, Brentford's captain, is a tall centre-back who wins the first contact in his own box. That first contact is what United lost twice.
What the analysts said
“Same mistakes as we did last season, every away game we give too much of the ball to them.”Bruno Fernandes
“Going behind and giving ourselves a lot to do makes it more difficult.”Michael Carrick
“Because Man Utd is coming very high with Luke Shaw… That was our main task, to close these gaps between the lines.”Sergej Jakirović
“Hull were outstanding, they defended really well and restricted Man Utd to very little.”Kris Boyd (Sky Sports)
United had the ball. Hull had a plan.
What's happening. Promoted Hull beat United 2–0 on opening day. United had 72% of the ball and 21 shots. Both Hull goals came from Slater's deliveries, from a free-kick routine built around how United stood at wide free kicks.
How it works. Hull defended with five across the back and four in front, so the gaps United usually exploit were closed. With Cunha dropping off as a false nine, Hull's three centre-backs had nobody to hold, and most of United's 39 crosses found nobody. A deep back five is beaten by a runner who pins the centre-backs or a midfielder who turns in tight spaces; both started on the bench.
What the shots say. Replaying every shot, this was dead even: each side wins about a third of the replays. United's 21 shots added up to no more than Hull's eight. Hull made better chances per shot, and two of them came from a scouted set-piece weakness, not luck.