Alan Shearer believes Manchester United approached the start of the new Premier League season in less than ideal physical shape. Michael Carrick's team suffered a 2-0 defeat to newly-promoted Hull City, and the expert felt they were clearly outmatched in intensity.
Shearer was surprised by United's condition, especially as a significant portion of the team underwent a full pre-season:
I hadn't seen Manchester United in pre-season matches, but having watched this game, they didn’t look physically ready.
They weren’t prepared to play 90 minutes of intense football with high pressing and plenty of movement. Only one team looked physically ready on the pitch, and it wasn’t Manchester United.
It was particularly striking in the first half how easily Hull delivered crosses. Their wide players would receive the ball, set it up for a delivery, and send it into the box. Manchester United simply couldn’t cope with that.
Both of Hull's goals came from set-pieces: first, Semi Ajayi netted from a corner, and later, Nobel Mendy finished off a free-kick from Slater.
After the match, Carrick acknowledged that there were areas to work on but urged against jumping to conclusions after just one defeat:
We have a lot to take from this game, and we will. There are things that need to be improved. One match doesn’t change the course of our journey, but we need to understand where we need to step up.
