Manager Marco Silva insists Hull City are still hopeful of reaching the final of the EFL Cup despite falling to a 2-0 defeat in the first leg of their semi-final with Manchester United.

The Tigers travelled to Old Trafford on Tuesday but fell victim to second-half strikes from Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini.

Silva, who has only been at the helm since January 5, picked up a win over Swansea in the FA Cup at the weekend in his first game in charge before Tuesday’s loss.

The Portuguese could not claim back-to-back victories as United, who are priced at 1.80 to win the EFL Cup, put themselves in a strong position ahead of the return leg at the KCOM Stadium on January 26.

United’s second goal from Fellaini came with just three minutes left to play and Silva admitted it was a late blow although he insists they will still look to put up a fight in the second leg.

Silva said: “We will try for sure. It was a pity for us to concede a second goal so late because if we keep it at 1-0, the result is more open for the second game. “We have to try to do better in the second leg.

I liked our performance at Old Trafford but of course I am not happy with the result because I always want more for my team.

“I saw some wrongs in the team that we need to improve on but I also saw some good things and we tried to cause Manchester United problems. We need to do that more in the next game.

“There are things we need to improve and this is what we now need to work on in training. We also need to put more players into the squad because at the moment we only have 15 fit (senior) players.”