Chinese fans reacted exuberantly Sunday after striker Wu Lei made history by becoming the first Chinese player to score in La Liga, scoring for RCD Espanyol against Real Valladolid on Saturday.
Wu's cool finish from inside the area in the 65th minute sealed the 3-1 victory for his team, and thus he became the first Chinese player to bag a goal in a European major league a decade after Shao Jiayi in the German Bundesliga in 2008.
A widely circulated mock-up image on Chinese social media depicts Lionel Messi, soccer megastar from Espanyol's cross-city rivals Barcelona, holding up a Wu Lei uniform in celebration. The original photo actually came from when Messi's Barcelona beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in April 2017.
Some also mocked China's La Liga broadcaster PPTV commentator Shen Fangjian, widely dubbed "Wu's top fan" for his unending praise of the striker, for missing out on the chance to commentate on Wu's goal.
Shen was instead commentating on the El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, which was held after La Liga minnows Espanyol's game.
Some Chinese internet users added fake subtitles to a photo of South Korea and Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min arguing with Leicester City defender Harry Maguire about who is "Asia's No.1" player.
The original photo was really Son arguing with Maguire about a possible penalty after being tripped by the defender.
Wu thanked Chinese fans for their support through a Weibo post and received more than 75,000 likes. The news of his goal became a hot topic on China's social media.
"I'm really excited to have scored my first goal in La Liga," Wu posted on Weibo, China's Twitter-like service. "But I'm more happy that my team got three points."
Wu was taken off in the 84th minute, replaced by Xavi Puado, and was given a huge ovation by the home supporters at the RCDE Stadium.
"I hope to be able to score more goals and to thank them for all the support they are showing me," he was quoted as saying by Barcelona-based newspaper Sport after the game.
Wu's next chance to add to his tally for Espanyol will be next Saturday when the team plays against Athletic Bilbao.
With Shanghai SIPG, China international Wu was the top scorer in the Chinese Super League for the 2018 season.
Sometimes rather fancifully dubbed "the Chinese Messi," Wu was top Chinese scorer in the CSL for five consecutive seasons before 2018, with 102 goals and 57 assists in 172 games.
In January, the 27-year-old joined Espanyol, a club owned by Chinese plastics entrepreneur Chen Yansheng. He scored his first goal in his fifth appearance for the La Liga side.
