Carrick calls for calm

HULL, England (AP):

Michael Carrick had a message for critics rushing to judge Manchester United after their disappointing defeat in the opening round of the Premier League:

Relax.

“I played here for a long time, you don’t do that without the ups and downs but you have to carry on as normal,” United’s manager said after yesterday’s 2-0 loss at Hull. “We just don’t all have to shout and scream and create some chaos.”

That did not mean, however, that Carrick was unaffected by the defeat at the hands of one of the teams expected to be battling relegation this season.

Hull, after all, were one of the three promoted sides and secured their place in the top flight through the playoffs.

“Calmness doesn’t mean there is not emotion,” he said. “We have lost one game and it is not a nice one.”

United conceded two first-half goals from set pieces, with Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy on target, and captain Bruno Fernandes said he saw “the same mistakes as we did last season in every away game.”

“We give too much of the ball to them. In the first 20 minutes the goalkeeper had more touches on the ball, too much time,” Fernandes said. “We need to press a little bit more, be more aggressive. And set play, we need to work on it.”