If there was an abiding memory from this match, it was not the sight of Hull City making such a dramatic late fight of it, as plucky as it may have been; Dimitar Berbatov bamboozling his markers, as good as he was; or Manchester United missing a mind-boggling number of chances, as has often been the case this season. Rather it was Wayne Rooney, the embodiment of frustration, charging around like a madman.

Opposing teams tend to know when they have United rattled – when steam starts coming out of Rooney’s ears and the brilliant forward suddenly resembles a bull in a china shop. And so it proved, the moment that Geovanni scored from the penalty spot for Hull to leave hanging in the balance a match that the Barclays Premier League champions should have had sewn up long before.

Rooney has delivered some of the best football of his career for club and country this season, but just as he possesses an ability to excite and enthral, so his occasional recklessness can make supporters wince and cringe – and for two of United’s past three league matches this side of Rooney’s character has manifested itself. Can it be any coincidence that he has not scored in those games?

Anonymous away to Everton the previous weekend, Rooney was substituted for his own good by Sir Alex Ferguson when, having just been booked against his former club and with the score at 1-1, the 23-year-old was spotted kissing the badge on his shirt as his exasperation got the better of him. Ferguson did not take the same drastic action against Hull on Saturday, but he should have done.

The United manager complained – rightly – that Michael Turner, the Hull defender, who had already been cautioned, should have been shown at least a second yellow card for fouling Michael Carrick on the edge of the penalty area, but Ferguson might count himself fortunate that Rooney was not dismissed two minutes after Geovanni had made it 4-3.

Nothing went Rooney’s way against Hull, which is saying something given United’s dominance, and it showed. Contesting a drop-ball with George Boateng, the Hull captain in the absence of the suspended Ian Ashbee, Rooney launched in with both feet. It was nasty and dangerous, but Mike Dean, the referee, barely had time to blow his whistle when the ball ricocheted into the path of Andy Dawson and Rooney flew in with an equally reckless challenge.

If Rooney was lucky to escape with a booking, it was a wonder that he was allowed to stay on the pitch after directing a volley of abuse at one of Dean’s assistants, then the fourth official.

Phil Brown, the Hull manager, attempted to defend Rooney by saying that “maybe we need to look at that and instil that kind of anger, that drive and desire to win, in our players”. But watching the forward blow his shaven-headed top like that, it is hard to escape the feeling that such behaviour is detrimental to the team, especially on occasions such as these, when cool heads are required.

“The referee didn’t know who should have possession so I said give it to United and let them give it back to our goalkeeper, but Rooney didn’t want that – he wanted to compete for it [and take a drop-ball],” Boateng said. “I said, ‘Fine, let’s do it’ and then he lost it a bit. He’s a temperamental player, one who plays from the heart. He is an outstanding footballer, but he gets frustrated when things aren’t going right.

“You can’t take that out of him because it’s part of what makes him so determined to win – he’s got fire. But that’s when they realised they had a game on their hands. We had them rocking in the last ten minutes.”

They did, but how United found themselves in such an “embarrassing situation”, as Ferguson described it, was mystifying and a little worrying.

As inspired as Bernard Mendy’s introduction was – the Hull substitute capitalised on a poor back-header from Patrice Evra to make it 4-2 and won the penalty, after being upended by Rio Ferdinand, from which Geovanni scored – United’s failure to put the game to bed was a source of frustration for Ferguson for the third match running.

Despite battering Everton during the first half at Goodison Park, United had only a one-goal lead to show for their supremacy and were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw, while Ferguson was critical of his players for taking their foot off the pedal against West Ham United in midweek and not adding to their two first-half goals.

It would be churlish to be too critical of a team who scored four times against Hull, but their profligacy was marked – Ferguson was not guilty of exaggeration when he said that the game could have finished 10-1 – and with Chelsea already boasting a goal difference that is more than double that of the champions, the United manager will hope such wastefulness does not come back to haunt his side.

On the plus side, Cristiano Ronaldo plundered another two goals to take his tally for the season to seven in 11 matches, even if the Portugal winger might have had five, Carrick impressed on his first start for seven weeks and Berbatov produced his best performance in a United shirt, one that left Brown purring. “That’s why the saga [with Tottenham Hotspur over the forward’s transfer] went on so long and United ended up having to pay over £30 million for him,” the Hull manager said.

What the Premier League’s surprise package lack in skill, they more than make up for in character and pride. They were the first team to score three goals at Old Trafford since Chelsea 3½ years ago, but Hull are likely to get under the skin of plenty more teams this season. Just ask Rooney.

Mark of Respect - 5/10

Sir Alex Ferguson had to be restrained by Gary Neville from confronting Mike Dean, the referee, at full-time and the less said about Wayne Rooney’s conduct the better.

Man United (4-4-2): E van der Sar 6 G Neville 6 R Ferdinand 6 N Vidic 7 P Evra 5 C Ronaldo 7 M Carrick 8 Anderson 7 Nani 6 D Berbatov 8 W Rooney 5 Substitutes: C Tévez 6 (for Nani, 64min); R Giggs (for Carrick, 72); J O’Shea (for Anderson, 88). Not used: B Foster, Park Ji Sung, Rafael Da Silva, D Fletcher. Next: Arsenal (a).

Hull (4-3-1-2): B Myhill 7 P McShane 6 M Turner 6 K Zayatte 6 A Dawson 6 D Marney 5 G Boateng 6 B Hughes 5 Geovanni 7 M King 6 D Cousin 7 Substitutes: B Mendy 8 (for Hughes, 59); P Halmosi 6 (for King, 63); C Folan (for Boateng, 86). Not used: M Duke, N Barmby, R Garcia, S Ricketts. Next: Bolton (h).

Referee M Dean Attendance 75,398