Hull City’s head coach Serhiy Yakyrvych managed to keep his tactical blueprint under wraps for several weeks, allowing his team to achieve a remarkable 2-0 win over Manchester United in their first Premier League match. Assistant coach Dean Holden elaborated on this successful strategy during a segment on Match of the Day.
Returning to the top flight of English football after a nine-year absence via the playoffs, Hull City shocked Michael Carrick’s side by adopting a five-defender formation. Goals from defenders Semi Ajayi and Nobo Mendy in the first half secured the club's first league victory over the Manchester giants since 1974.
Yakyrvych opted for a drastic tactical shift following a thorough analysis of United's pre-season fixtures, notably their lacklustre 4-2 defeat to AC Milan. In that match, former AC Milan boss Ruben Amorim repeatedly exploited United's defence with diagonal passes, an approach that the Manchester side struggled to handle.
When questioned about similarities to Amorim's tactics, Holden was quick to clarify their independent strategy:
We definitely didn’t copy Ruben Amorim. Serhiy had the idea to play with five defenders in mind for three or four weeks. He intentionally kept our plan under wraps during pre-season, so we played with four at the back in those friendlies. It was easiest to use highlights from the Milan match for preparation, especially since Leeds had also employed a back three just before. Those similar systems helped us identify the opponent's weaknesses.
Hull's triumph over last season's bronze medalists is even more impressive given that they only had 28% possession. However, for Yakyrvych's men, playing defensively posed no issue:
We feel totally comfortable without the ball, so we didn’t have to change our identity. We weren't a dominant team in the Championship, and now we’re not forced to adapt. We thrive working in a mid-block, which is one of our strongest suits, alongside fast counter-attacks. Sunderland and Leeds set that trend for promoted teams, and for us, it’s all about believing in ourselves. We’ve got a band of lads who’ve worked exceptionally hard, and there are no real superstars in the team. Our manager is just as modest. We keep our feet firmly on the ground.
This sensational success for Hull comes against a backdrop of surprising pre-season odds; bookmakers had labelled Hull as the primary underdogs going into the tournament. The side only scraped into the playoffs on the final day of last season and became the first team in 16 years to win the playoffs from sixth place after beating Middlesbrough at Wembley. Just 15 months prior, the club narrowly avoided relegation to League One on goal difference, with three players who saved them in a crucial match against Portsmouth starting against United.
Holden outlined the club's overarching goal for the season:
Our key objective is to remain in the Premier League. It’s the toughest challenge, and from there we can build further. But winning at home in our first match of the season is beyond any dreams. The most important thing is the quality of our play, and the confidence we've gained from this victory will certainly help us going forward.
