Hull City's Manager Kept His Plan to Beat Manchester United a Secret for Weeks, and It Worked Perfectly

Table of Contents

Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic spent weeks plotting a tactical switch to a back five but deliberately hid it during preseason to avoid tipping off opponents
The Tigers studied Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan gameplan that exposed Manchester United’s defensive weaknesses in a 4-2 preseason defeat
Goals from Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy sealed Hull’s first league win over United since 1974 on their return to the Premier League after nine years away

The plan that Jakirovic refused to reveal until it was too late

Hull City’s stunning 2-0 victory over Manchester United was not a fluke, an accident or a case of opening day jitters. It was the result of a tactical masterstroke that manager Sergej Jakirovic had been cooking up in silence for the best part of a month, keeping it hidden from everyone outside his inner circle until the moment it mattered most.

The Tigers, making their first Premier League appearance in nine years after coming up through the playoffs last season, deployed a back five against Michael Carrick’s side on Saturday. It was not the system they had used at any point during preseason. That was entirely by design.

“Serg had it in the back of his mind for three or four weeks that he was thinking of playing a back five,” assistant head coach Dean Holden told Match of the Day. “He didn’t want to give anything away in pre-season, so we played a back four.”

The inspiration came from watching United’s preseason schedule, specifically the 4-2 defeat by AC Milan engineered by former boss Ruben Amorim. In that match, Amorim repeatedly switched play to his wing-backs, exposing gaps that United’s defense failed to cover. Jakirovic saw the blueprint and filed it away.

“We certainly didn’t copy Ruben Amorim,” Holden said with a smile. “The easiest thing to do in preparation was using some of the Milan clips and Leeds the week before played a back three too, so that helped us with players where the systems looked similar.”

First-half goals from defenders Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy gave Hull their first league win over United since 1974. The result is even more remarkable given that Hull had just 28 percent of possession across the 90 minutes. But Holden insisted that sitting deep and soaking up pressure is exactly where this team thrives.

“We are comfortable without the ball, so it is not like we are coming up here having dominated the Championship and now we have to change,” he said. “We are comfortable in that mid-block, that is one of our biggest strengths. Counter-attack as well.”

The scale of Hull’s achievement becomes clearer when you trace the journey that brought them here. Just 15 months ago, the Tigers were on the brink of relegation to League One, staying in the Championship on goal difference alone in 2024-25. They squeezed into the playoffs on the final day of last season and then became the first team to finish sixth and win the playoffs in 16 years, beating Middlesbrough in the final. Three of the players who started the 1-1 draw against Portsmouth that saved their Championship status were in the team that beat United on Saturday.

“Sunderland set the trend with Leeds in terms of teams who have come up, and for us, it is about belief,” Holden said. “We have a group of lads who have done the hard yards, there is no real superstars in there. The manager is the same, very humble. Feet will be firmly on the ground.”

Jakirovic’s side had been favorites to finish bottom of the Premier League before a ball was kicked. One match does not change the math entirely, but the way Hull went about dismantling a team that finished third last season suggests this is a group that belongs at this level more than the bookmakers think.

“We are aiming to stay in the league. It is the hardest thing to do and then you build on top of that,” Holden added. “But a win at home in the first game is beyond anyone’s dreams really. The performance is the biggest thing, the confidence, the belief, will stand us in good stead.”

Sources

BBC Sport

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.