I was at the game on Saturday and it was clear early on in the game that Manchester United were not at the races against Hull City.Words will be bandied towards Michael Carrick’s side this week until their home game against Ipswich on Sunday; for example, a lack of intensity, aggression and intent on display.
But when I left Hull, I just felt it was a bit more nuanced than that.
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Highlights from the Premier League match between Hull and Manchester United
It was a bad performance, for sure. Carrick’s side didn’t perform, and only he will truly know why, but from the off it was quite clear some of his main players are not quite up to match sharpness compared to where they will be in a few weeks.
Six of Carrick’s first-team players did have a full pre-season. But Carrick also had a new midfield duo playing together in Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos.
Sunday 30th August 4:00pm
Kick off 4:30pm
Off the bench, he had players nowhere near full fitness in Benjamin Sesko (has not played a minute of pre-season), as well as Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford, who have had limited minutes since returning from England duty in the summer.
Hull also deserve enormous credit for being a well-drilled outfit for their first Premier League game in nine years while also having a squad who have experienced a full pre-season to prepare for their opener.Also, allow me a moment to myth-bust something I have seen across social media over the last few days since the defeat.
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