Manchester United's left back Tyler Malacia has indicated that himself and his teammates must be prepared to win it "ugly" if they wish to continue in the Europa League this season.
The player and the rest of his teammates will have to deal with the challenges Xavi Hernandez's Barcelona will be bringing to them in their bid to progress to the next stage of the competition.
The Red Devils played out a 2-2 draw with the Catalans last Thursday when they visited the Spotify Nou Camp stadium in Spain. It was a convincing display from Erik Ten Hag's side, who were unlucky to have left Barcelona with a draw.
The former Feyenoord left back has some wealth of experience in the knockout phase of European competitions following his former club's exploits in the Europa League last campaign, but they lost the final to Jose Mourinho's AS Roma.
"You have to be on your A-game because normally it’s—at the end [in the final] it’s one game—but now it’s two games, so you have to be on your A-game because if you lose, you’re out of the tournament. "It's important,” he told ManUtd.com.
“Especially with this coach [Erik ten Hag], you want to play good football, but at the end, the result is the most important thing."
“Sometimes you have to win in an ugly way; those kinds of games you also have.”
Tyler Malacia had to contend with Luke Shaw for a starting berth for most of this campaign, with the latter appearing to always get the manager's nod ahead of him; however, the Netherlands international has explained that the team's progress comes first, regardless of whether you're starting from the bench or playing with the team on the pitch.
He explained that this sense of togetherness and unity would play a vital role when the Red Devils welcome Barcelona to Old Trafford on Thursday night.
"Everybody, even if you are on the bench, you pull for everyone, you cheer for everyone, and we go for everyone,” Malacia continued.
“Even when some small things happen on the pitch, you see everyone is there involved, so that’s important, I think.”
He went on to mention the fans' undying support this season as one of the major boosters for the team's performance.
“They give you the extra motivation to keep on going, even when you’re tired, so you go again and again and again."
“That’s what we need; we need that connection," he explained.
Unlike his England counterpart, Luke Shaw, Tyler Malacia has yet to score or assist since he joined Erik Ten Hag's side but has been decent on the pitch when called upon.
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