The 20-year-old continued to impress on Sunday by scoring twice to help FC Barcelona seal a brilliant victory over Real Sociedad.
Sergino Dest became the first American player to score a brace in La Liga on Sunday night and credited Ronald Koeman’s new system for bringing out the best of him.
Dest scored the second and third goals in San Sebastian to help Barcelona cruise to a 6-1 win against Real Sociedad. He became only the third American goalscorer in La Liga history, and the only one to score a brace.
3 – @FCBarcelona's Sergiño Dest 🇺🇸 is the third American player to score in @LaLigaEN history, after Jozy Altidore in 2008 (1) and Yunus Musah in 2020 (1), and the first to score a brace. Jazz. pic.twitter.com/aMcsw1xEIt
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) March 21, 2021
The former Ajax man, along with fellow full-back Jordi Alba, has moved into a wing-back role following Koeman’s recent decision to adopt a back three.
“This system is really good for me and is going well for the team,” Dest told Barca TV. “I have more space and I am more involved.”
Lionel Messi, who surpassed Xavi Hernandez as the club’s all-time appearance-maker on Sunday, also scored a brace. Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele were the other two goalscorers.
The victory over Real Sociedad kept Barcelona within four points of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid ahead of the final 10 games.
“I am really happy. It’s incredible to win 6-1 against a great opponent,” added Dest. “I am also happy to score two goals and to help the team.”
Dest has managed three goals and an assist in 32 appearances across all competitions since joining Barcelona from Ajax last summer.
The only other American footballers to score in La Liga are Jozy Altidore at Villarreal and Valencia’s Yunus Musah.
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