Alan Shearer has raised alarming questions over Manchester United’s fitness after branding Michael Carrick’s side “dreadful” following their nightmare defeat to Hull City.
The Red Devils suffered a miserable start to the new Premier League season on Saturday as newly-promoted Hull secured a deserved 2-0 victory through goals from Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy.
It was the manner of the defeat that particularly concerned Shearer, with the former England captain claiming United were unable to cope with their opponents’ energy and intensity.
Speaking on Match of the Day, Shearer delivered a brutal assessment of Carrick’s team and suggested there was an apparent lack of fitness throughout the side.
“Man United were dreadful in all positions I thought, particularly upfront, they offered nothing,” he said.
“At times I struggled to work out what they were trying to do.
“[There is] so much to work on, so much to improve, I know it was the first game of the season but there was without a doubt a lack of energy, they just didn’t look fit, Manchester United.”
Alan Shearer has raised alarming questions over Manchester United’s fitness after branding Michael Carrick’s side “dreadful” following their nightmare defeat to Hull City
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BBC
Shearer felt the warning signs were apparent almost immediately, with Hull setting the tempo and United failing to respond.
“There was only one team who were going to win that today from the very first minute, you saw the energy, you saw the intensity,” he added.
“That would be the worrying thing – you know that as a team going away from home to a newly promoted team, you know what you’re going to get and you have to match them as a minimum and Man Utd didn’t today. They couldn’t live with them.”
Hull were impressive as Man Utd lost on the opening day
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PA
The result represented a disastrous beginning to Carrick’s permanent reign.
The former United midfielder was handed the first-team job after impressing as interim boss following Ruben Amorim’s dismissal, but his opening league assignment could hardly have gone worse.
Carrick, however, refused to treat one defeat as evidence that United’s recent progress had disappeared.
“We haven’t lost many games in six, seven months,” he said.
“So again, I get it, we’ve lost today and I understand there’s questions to be asked, but it doesn’t mean everything’s wrong because we’ve lost a game.
“We’ve done a lot of good things and we did some good things today, but it gets lost, and I understand it’ll get lost, but it doesn’t get lost from our point of view.”
Michael Carrick insists Man Utd can bounce back despite their nightmare defeat to Hull
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PA
Carrick acknowledged United struggled tactically against Hull and admitted solutions must be found when his players encounter different systems.
Yet despite maintaining his composure publicly, the 45-year-old insisted his calm appearance should not be mistaken for acceptance of the performance.
“I’m talking to you quite calm, but I’m not exactly calm inside and enjoying the day, you know?” he said.
“It just doesn’t mean that we all have to shout and scream and come out and create some chaos just because of it.
“Inside we’re hurting. The boys know we need to get better, but the calmness doesn’t mean that there’s no emotion in it, for sure.”
United will return to action against Ipswich next Sunday (4.30pm).
