Xavi Praises 'Spectacularly Good' Sergiño Dest After Barcelona Win

Sergiño Dest may be in Xavi's good graces after all.

On the heels of Barcelona's 4–1 win over Valencia on Sunday, the U.S. men's national team fullback was singled out by the manager for his play—a welcome development given how out of favor Dest had appeared in recent weeks.

"Everyone is improving," Xavi said. "Let's take Sergiño as an example. When we got here, he wasn't doing so well, but now he is doing great. I thought he was spectacularly good [against Valencia], both with the ball and without it. I am really happy with his progress."

January signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's hat trick stole the show for Barça, which jumped back into La Liga's top four with the win, but Dest playing an influential role in the result should go a long way for his standing at the club, considering that last month he was reportedly on the transfer block before ultimately staying put. Minor injury and a positive COVID-19 test didn't help his case to play, but when fully fit he was left out of Barcelona's squad entirely for the Spanish Super Cup semifinal against Real Madrid, calling into question where he stood in the pecking order. For the time being, anyway, he's back in the mix.

"I feel good on a personal level, Xavi gave me the trust now to play again," Dest told ESPN. "If I don't play, I always train harder to get into the team again, so I will never stop. So, if I don't play, I train really hard to get my stamina back and everything and get stronger. And when I can play, I try to show that I want to be there. "I feel great. Three points away is always a good feeling and, as a team, we fought really hard. I think the intensity was the key, we helped each other a lot. The teamwork was good."

Dest has benefited by Dani Alves, the 38-year-old Brazilian veteran right back, being out suspended for two games. Given that Alves isn't on Barça's Europa League squad, there figures to be another opening for Dest to keep fortifying his place. The 21-year-old came off the bench in last Thursday's first leg, a 1–1 draw vs. Napoli. The series shifts to Italy this week, where one of the two will advance to the round of 16.