Manchester United suffered a 2-0 defeat at newly promoted Hull in their first Premier League match of the 2026-27 season, and fans have pointed to new signing Youri Tielemans' pre-season comments as a possible reason for the loss.
Fitness concerns raised after loss
United failed to defend two set pieces at the MKM Stadium, but supporters and pundits also highlighted fitness levels. Alan Shearer told BBC Radio 5 Live: "They didn't look fit. They didn't look ready to play 90 minutes of intense, high pressure, high energy football."
Midfield duo Andrey Santos and Tielemans, who cost a combined £85m, came in for particular criticism.
Tielemans interview resurfaces
After the match, an interview Tielemans gave to Rio Ferdinand during pre-season resurfaced on social media. The Belgian had joined from Aston Villa shortly after the World Cup.
"We've just had a nice spa [day]," Tielemans said. "Just a sharp session [this morning]. That's what it's been like, mostly." When Ferdinand asked if the squad had done 'loads of running', Tielemans replied: "No, when you come back from the World Cup, you just chill." Ferdinand responded: "What?"
Tielemans was only involved in the latter stages of United's pre-season, having been at the World Cup before signing.
Stats back up claims
Statistics from the match support the idea that Hull were sharper. Sergej Jakirovic's side won 58.8 per cent of ground duels and 57.9 per cent in the air, and recorded six interceptions compared to United's two.
Fans shared their concern on X. One wrote: "Look at how shocked Rio was when Tielemans told him they didn't do much running in pre-season." Another said: "This is honestly a massive red flag for Carrick… I can't believe this happened at a club like Manchester United." A third added: "Even Rio was shocked with Tielemans saying this."
Carrick will hope for improvement at home to another newly promoted side, Ipswich, next Sunday. Ipswich began their season with a last-minute win against Sunderland.
