Sergino Dest’s short wait to make his AC Milan debut came to an end on Tuesday with the Barcelona loanee appearing in the Serie A club’s return to UEFA Champions League action.
Dest played the final 33 minutes in AC Milan’s 1-1 draw at Red Bull Salzburg, helping the Italian club earn one point in Austria. The 21-year-old replaced right back Davide Calabria, logging his first minutes in Stefano Pioli’s squad.
Noah Okafor opened the scoring for Red Bull Salzburg in the 28th minute before Alexis Saelemaekers equalized for the Serie A visitors in the 40th. Dest came onto the field just before the hour mark and helped AC Milan avoid any late shock at Red Bull Arena.
He won one duel, made seven recoveries, and created one chance in the match.
AC Milan remains unbeaten to start its new competitive schedule, sitting third in Serie A through five matches played. Dest will be pushing to make his first start for AC Milan this weekend as the Bianconeri visits Sampdoria on Saturday before hosting Dinamo Zagreb on Matchday 2 of UCL play on Sept. 14.
Dest’s final opportunity to play before the September international break comes on Sept. 18 as AC Milan hosts Napoli. The U.S. men’s national team defender will be hoping to be included in Gregg Berhalter’s final pre-World Cup squad this month as the Americans face Japan and Saudi Arabia in a pair of friendlies in Germany and Spain respectively.