What Alan Shearer said about Man Utd immediately after Hull shocked Premier League giants | OneFootball

Alan Shearer believes Manchester United don’t look fit following their 2-0 defeat to Hull City in the Premier League.

Goals from Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy, following set-piece situations, sunk Michael Carrick’s men in their opening clash of the 2026/27 season.

And there was absolutely no question over which of the two sides put in the superior showing on the day in East Yorkshire.

Alan Shearer’s warning should concern Man Utd fans

Alan Shearer spoke on BBC Radio 5 Live (via BBC Sport): “I haven’t seen Manchester United in pre-season. 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.

A pretty damning indictment of the Red Devils straight off the bat this season.

Say what you will about Hull City being a fresh challenge for the established clubs to contend with in the English top-flight.

Say what you will about the Tigers conjuring their goalscoring opportunities from set-pieces.

Manchester United looked toothless at one end of the pitch and hapless at the other. Just take a moment to look back at Harry Maguire’s dreadful defending for the opener, which combined with Ayden Heaven’s mental lapse to devestating effect in the first half.

No fight, no bite, no sense of defensive security against set-pieces – the latter of which is a massive no-no in a league that has evolved to embrace physical play and dead-ball situations.

Even Hull’s players couldn’t believe their luck

Lewie Coyle’s comments to TNT Sports after full-time hardly help Manchester United either: “Probably before we went to bed last night we couldn’t have dreamt it any better.

“To say I’m surprised… obviously, to win 2-0 at home against Manchester United, of course it will be a shock to a lot of people. I’m not saying that’s exactly how I thought it would go, but this team [Hull City] has got something special in terms of character, resilience.

Absolutely no one – and we mean no one – was expecting the Tigers to secure a positive result against Carrick’s side at the first time of asking following their return to the Premier League. Certainly not in such an emphatic fashion that could only leave some questioning which of the two sides exactly will be playing in the Champions League this season.

Manchester United can put it down to a fluke; a sign of the mystic power of set pieces in an age where flair and creativity in open play have taken a back seat.

But it was clear to all in East Yorkshire that United have a lot of problems they need to fix on the pitch. Perhaps chief of them all is what they’re able to do against the ball in set-piece situations.

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