Alan Shearer says Manchester United lacked fitness and intensity in Hull City defeat

Alan Shearer has criticised Manchester United’s physical condition and performance after their 2-0 defeat by newly promoted Hull City in the opening match of the 2026-27 season.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Match of the Day programme after Saturday’s game, the former England and Premier League striker said Manchester United did not appear ready to cope with the demands of a high-intensity match.

“I did not see Manchester United during pre-season. I watched them in this game and the team looks unfit and unprepared to play 90 minutes of high-intensity, high-pressing, high-energy football,” Shearer said.

“There was only one team out there that looked fit, and it was not Manchester United.”

Shearer was particularly critical of United’s performance across the pitch, describing their display as “terrible” and calling them “a poor team in every position”.

His comments came after Hull City, a side that has only just secured promotion, recorded a 2-0 victory over Manchester United at the start of the new campaign. Shearer said United should at least have been able to match the energy and pressing of their opponents from the opening minute.

“The minimum requirement against a promoted team was to match Hull’s energy and their pressing from the first minute,” he said.

According to Shearer, Manchester United failed to meet that basic expectation during a performance in which the difference between the two teams was evident both physically and tactically.

“There was no intensity, no closing down of spaces, no hunger,” he added.

The defeat leaves Manchester United facing immediate scrutiny at the beginning of the 2026-27 season, with Shearer’s assessment focused not only on the result but also on the manner of the performance. His criticism centred on a lack of fitness, pressure on the ball and determination, areas in which he felt Hull City were clearly superior.

United’s second match of the season will give them another meeting with a promoted side. They are due to face Ipswich Town on Sunday, 30 August.

That fixture will provide Manchester United with an opportunity to respond to the defeat, although Shearer’s remarks underline the scale of the improvement he believes is required. The former striker’s analysis suggested the problems displayed against Hull City affected every part of United’s performance, rather than being confined to one position or one phase of play.