Tielemans' pre-season 'chill' comments resurface after Man Utd's humbling 2-0 loss to Hull

Manchester United began their 2026-27 Premier League campaign with a 2-0 defeat away to newly promoted Hull City at the MKM Stadium, a result that immediately raised questions about the squad’s fitness under manager Michael Carrick. Hull, who entered the season as favourites to finish bottom, dominated the physical battle from start to finish.

The Red Devils were undone by two set-piece failures, but the broader concern among fans and pundits centred on the team’s energy levels. New midfield signings Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans — acquired for a combined £85m — drew particular criticism for their sluggish performances. Alan Shearer was blunt in his assessment on 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.”

Fuelling the debate was a pre-season interview between Tielemans and club legend Rio Ferdinand that resurfaced on social media after the final whistle. Recorded shortly after the 29-year-old joined from Aston Villa, the clip showed Tielemans describing the squad’s recent schedule in relaxed terms. “We’ve just had a nice spa [day],” he said. “Just a sharp session [this morning]. That’s what it’s been like, mostly.” When Ferdinand asked whether the group had done “loads of running”, Tielemans replied: “No, when you come back from the World Cup, you just chill.”

It is worth noting that Tielemans only joined United’s pre-season programme in its latter stages, having featured at the World Cup before completing his move. Even so, the clip prompted a visible reaction from Ferdinand at the time — and a far stronger one from supporters once the Hull result landed.

“Look at how shocked Rio was when Tielemans told him they didn’t do much running in pre-season,” one fan posted on X. “This is honestly a massive red flag for Carrick… I can’t believe this happened at a club like Manchester United.” Another wrote: “It’s not the first time I’ve heard it said training under Carrick isn’t intense. I don’t know how true that is, but today we were miles off Hull’s fitness levels.”

The statistics from Saturday’s match support those concerns. Hull won 58.8 per cent of their ground duels and 57.9 per cent of aerial contests, while recording six interceptions to United’s two — a stark illustration of the gap in sharpness between the sides.

Carrick will be under immediate pressure to produce a response when United host another newly promoted side, Ipswich Town, next Sunday. Ipswich opened their own campaign with a last-minute victory against Sunderland.