Espanyol 2-2 Barcelona: 5 Talking Points | LaLiga 2019/2020 

#3 Wu Lei makes history

Wu Lei became the first Chinese player to score a competitive goal against Barcelona

When Espanyol spent €2m to sign Wu Lei from Shanghai SIPG in January 2019, many would have been forgiven for asking Wu who?

The 28-year-old was virtually an unknown commodity in mainstream Europe but he had made a name for himself in the Far East.

Over a decade ago, he became the youngest player to ever appear in the Chinese top-flight when he did so aged just 14 years and 287 days and held the record for most goals in Chinese Super League history.

Despite these, many still saw him as a marketing signing to boost Espanyol's popularity in China but any of those still in doubt about his abilities would begin to have second thoughts.

Wu Lei was introduced in the game in the 74th minute for Oscar Melendo and he made his impact felt 14 minutes later when he drilled past Neto to secure a point for Espanyol.

In the process, he became the first Chinese player to ever score a competitive goal against Barcelona and fans of his club would hope that he would be on hand to create more history.