Michael Carrick insisted he would not blast his Manchester United flops despite a dismal 2-0 defeat at Hull in their opening game of the English Premier League season, whilst big-spending Tottenham slumped to an embarrassing 3-0 loss against Brentford.
Carrick's side were rocked by first-half goals from Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy at the MKM Stadium on Saturday. Hull, who are back in the Premier League for the first time since 2017, were without 10 players due to injury but still put woeful United to the sword with a vibrant display.
It was a chastening start for United, who are expected to mount a title challenge after finishing third last term. There was scant evidence that United are capable of going toe-to-toe with champions Arsenal. But the stoic Carrick was determined to keep his composure to avoid the kind of emotional outburst that doomed his sacked predecessor Ruben Amorim last season.
"We came here to win so to not take anything away is hugely disappointing. It is not a nice feeling, but it is not going to change our direction as a team or a club," Carrick said.
"You have to carry on as normal. We just don't all have to shout and scream and create some chaos. Calmness doesn't mean there is not emotion."
Tottenham, meanwhile, have splashed out over £200 million (about R4.37 billion) in a bid to improve a squad that narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship on the final day of last season.
Coach Roberto de Zerbi gave debuts to four of his new recruits as Sandro Tonali, Andrew Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke all started, whilst Mateus Fernandes came off the bench in the second half. But Brentford, assembled on a fraction of Tottenham's budget, ran riot in West London with a dynamic display that exposed the flaws in the visitors' costly rebuilding plan.
De Zerbi offered no excuses for Tottenham's shambolic performance.
"We suffered physically, but we knew that before the game. We were not ready to fight the duels. We made a lot of mistakes in the timing of the pressure with Mikey Moore," he said.
"Especially in the first half, we were not in the right position to make the right pressure. If you analyse the game, you can see how many duels we lost in the first half when the game went in Brentford's direction.
"We didn't play well. We didn't fight in the right way. Not because we didn't remember last season, but because these players are good people and with value and memory. But we lost too many duels."
Tottenham have finished 17th in the Premier League for the last two years, but their summer splurge on new signings had raised hope of a vastly improved season. De Zerbi insisted he would not lose faith in his players despite such a frustrating start to the campaign.
"I am sorry for the defeat. I know we have to improve in our physical condition and the organisation. There were many new players, but it was the first game. It's part of our journey," he said.
"I believe in my players. The first XI should be able to compete normally if the game went in this way. I don't lose confidence in my players and these people." | AFP
PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHDAY 1 RESULTS
Friday: Arsenal 3, Coventry 0
Saturday: Hull City 2, Manchester United 0; Ipswich Town 2; Sunderland 1; Everton 2, Crystal Palace 0; Nottingham Forest 0, Leeds United 1; Brentford 3; Tottenham Hotspur 0
STILL TO PLAY
Sunday: Manchester City v Brighton; Brighton v Aston Villa; Newcastle United v Liverpool
Monday: Fulham v Chelsea