Hull City were supposed to be one of the three teams everyone pencilled in for a quick return to the Championship. Nine years out of the top flight, a squad assembled on a fraction of the money their opponents spend, and a stadium that holds fewer than 25,000. Then they beat Manchester United 2-0 on the opening day and kept a second clean sheet a week later, and the pencil marks started looking premature.
Two wins, three goals, none conceded
Six points from the opening two matches put Hull third in the table, level on points with Manchester City and Arsenal and separated only by goal difference. That is not a position anyone expected them to occupy in early September, and it will not last the season, but it has bought Sergej Jakirović something valuable: a fanbase that believes.
The clean sheets are the part worth paying attention to. Konstantinos Tzolakis has kept two in two, which puts the Greek goalkeeper level with David Raya at the top of that particular list. Hull are not creating a great deal, with three goals in two games, but they are hard to break down and they punish mistakes. For a promoted side, that combination is worth more than flair.
The Manchester United result was not a fluke
Beating United 2-0 at the MKM Stadium was the headline, and it has aged reasonably well. United have since drawn at Everton and needed a Bruno Fernandes hat-trick to see off Ipswich, so the picture that emerged in Hull was not a one-off aberration. Michael Carrick's side genuinely struggled to break down a well-organised block.
Hull got here the hard way. Oli McBurnie's late winner against Middlesbrough in the play-off final on 23 May sent them up, a match settled in the final minutes after a season of near misses. Acun Ilıcalı's ownership has attracted its share of scepticism over the years, but the club is back where it wants to be and the city has noticed. Hull City Council has hung 'We Are Premier League' banners along Carr Lane, which tells you how much this means locally.
The hard part starts now
Hull travel to Chelsea on Saturday 12 September, and Stamford Bridge under Xabi Alonso is a very different proposition from anything they faced last season. Chelsea have scored seven goals in two league games. Hull's defensive shape will get its most serious examination yet.
There is also the matter of squad depth. Hull's summer was busy but not extravagant, and their deadline-day signing Robinio Vaz was subjected to racist abuse online, which the club reported to Humberside Police. Injuries and suspensions across a 38-game season tend to expose promoted squads more brutally than any single fixture does. For now, though, Hull are third, and nobody in the city is apologising for enjoying it.
Season facts: Hull City, promoted via the 2026 Championship play-off final (Oli McBurnie winner v Middlesbrough, 23 May 2026), back in the Premier League after nine years. Opening two matches: won 2, 3 goals scored, 0 conceded, 6 points, third in the table. Head coach: Sergej Jakirović. Captain: Lewie Coyle. Goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis: 2 clean sheets in 2. Home: MKM Stadium, capacity 24,983. Next: Chelsea away, Saturday 12 September 2026.
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