Man Utd’s Hull City humiliation! Carlos Baleba’s arrival can’t come soon enough as Michael Carrick’s men are outfought and outplayed by Premier League newcomers in opening-day embarrassment
It was a performance that was symptomatic of Man Utd’s problems in the middle of the pitch.
There were serious concerns over the perceived lack of mobility of a Santos-Tielemans-Fernandes midfield three when the Belgian arrived from Aston Villa, and the trio’s lack of athleticism was laid bare on the opening day.
They were often bullied in the central areas, either bounced off the ball or forced into errors, and all three often looked like they were running through treacle out of possession.
It was Tielemans who suffered the humiliation of being nutmegged on the edge of the box before committing the foul that led directly to Hull’s second, which just about summed up his afternoon, as Nobel Mendy headed home from the pinpoint cross.
Santos was improved in the second half and battled well, but another poor giveaway eventually resulted in Tigers attacker Mohamed Belloumi firing narrowly over Lammens’ bar from range.
While there was some neat passing, United also lacked a cutting edge – certainly not helped by a quiet performance from their captain and talisman Fernandes, who was well marshalled by the hosts. He has taken a little while to get going in seasons gone by, but much more will be expected of the Portuguese dynamo going forward.
Per the BBC, United had 72% possession and attempted more passes than they did in any Premier League game last season.
