Alan Shearer has claimed that Manchester United did not ‘look fit’ during their Premier League opening weekend defeat to Hull City.
United were looking to pick up where they left off last season under Michael Carrick, but were instead outthought and outmuscled by the newly-promoted side as they fell to a 2-0 defeat.
Sami Ajayi converted a rebound from a corner to give Hull City the lead before Nobel Mendy thumped home Regan Slater’s delightful free-kick delivery to double the hosts’ lead.
United brought on Marcus Rashford at half-time to try and find a way back into the game, but Sergej Jakirovic’s side held on with relative ease for their first league victory over the Red Devils in 52 years.
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While players like Rashford have only just returned to training in recent weeks, large swathes of Carrick’s squad had a full pre-season ahead of their opening league game.
But Shearer believes that the entire squad did not look ready for the start of the season, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘I haven’t seen Manchester United in pre-season, but I saw them in this game and they didn’t look fit.
‘They didn’t look ready to play 90 minutes of intense, high-pressure, high-energy football.
Nobel Mendy makes no mistake with the header! 🎯Hull double their lead against Man United 😮📺 Watch live on TNT Sports & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/4wawznTTWZ
‘There was only one team that looked fit there and it wasn’t Manchester United.’
Analysing United’s performance further, the ex-Newcastle United striker added: ‘The standout thing for me, particularly in the first half, was how easy it was for Hull to put crosses into the box, how their two wing-backs had no other thought than to move the ball out their feet and cross it in.
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‘I know the two goals they conceded came from set pieces, but that also came from when the balls went into the box.
‘That’s how they got the corner anyway, from that first goal. Balls into the box, no other thought; move it out and get it and Man Utd couldn’t cope with that.’
Speaking after the game, Carrick conceded that his team were never going to be ‘perfect’, but they now have ‘a lot to learn’ from the 2-0 defeat.