Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Sergino Dest made history in Barcelona's win over Dynamo Kiev in the UEFA Champions League when he became the first ever United States international player to score a goal for the La Liga squad.
Dest's score came in the 52nd minute of the 4-0 win on Tuesday at the Olympic National Sports Complex in Kiev, Ukraine. The second-half strike gave Barcelona a 1-0 lead before Martin Braithwaite scored twice. Antoine Griezmann scored Barcelona's final goal in stoppage time.
"I'm really happy to score my first goal," Dest told FCBarcelona.com. "I think overall we played good as a team. Everyone played well and we took the win."
Dest, 20, also is a defender for the United States Men's National Team. He was born in the Netherlands, but has an American father. He spent the first part of his senior career with Ajax before he joined Barcelona in October.
Braithwaite assisted Dest's first-blood score 7 minutes into the second half of Tuesday's triumph. Barcelona launched an attack deep in Kiev territory at the start of the sequence. Braithwaite received a short pass inside the right side of the box before he slipped another short feed to Dest on his right.
The Barcelona right back then used his right foot to blast a shot toward the far post. The attempt went just out of reach for Kiev keeper Heorhiy Bushchan before it went into the left side of the net.
Braithwaite added another goal in the 57th minute before he gave Barcelona a 3-0 edge on a penalty kick in the 70th minute. Jordi Alba then assisted Griezmann's score in the second minute of stoppage time.
Dest's U.S. men's teammate, Konrad de la Fuente, also debuted on Tuesday for Barcelona. He entered the match as a substitute in the 83rd minute.
His entrance marked the first time two Americans have played side-by-side in a Champions League game since 2004, when Tim Howard and Jonathan Spector shared the field for Manchester United.
"It was an incredible feeling to make my debut," de la Fuente said. "I'm thankful for everybody that helped me get here. I will continue to work hard and hopefully get more chances."
Barcelona hosts Osasuna in a La Liga game at 8 a.m. EST on Sunday at Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona. They return to Champions League play for another group stage match against Ferencvaros at 3 p.m. EST on Dec. 2 in Budapest, Hungary.
