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Wu Lei’s late equaliser for Espanyol against Barcelona heralds “a new chapter” in Chinese football, the country’s media declared on Sunday, as the forward’s heroics went viral.<\/p>\n
The Chinese international came off the bench and struck in the 88th minute to salvage a 2-2 home draw for La Liga’s bottom club in Saturday’s derby clash.<\/p>\n
The goal was a huge talking point on Chinese social media and a trending topic on the Twitter-like Weibo, with one hashtag relating to it generating 370 million views.<\/p>\n
“Wu has now become the first Chinese player to score against Barcelona in all competitions ever,” state-run China Global Television Network (CGTN) said.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old Wu “single-handedly revitalised Espanyol” against the Spanish champions, CGTN said.<\/p>\n
“A new chapter in history has been opened,” it added.<\/p>\n
“For Wu, it was a night that will live long in the memory.”<\/p>\n
It was his fifth league goal for Chinese-owned Espanyol since he moved to the club from Shanghai SIPG a year ago.<\/p>\n
State news agency Xinhua said that Wu’s dramatic leveller from a narrow angle “sparked a wave of praise from media and fans in China”.<\/p>\n
Wu joined in the celebrations by writing on Weibo: “Wonderful night, a new year, a good start.”<\/p>\n
China’s new coach Li Tie will be relying on the forward to help rescue the country’s hopes of reaching the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.<\/p>\n
“He is currently the only Chinese player in one of the five major football leagues,” said the former Everton midfielder in his first press conference in charge on Sunday.<\/p>\n
“I watched the game last night and this (goal) is really something that brings honour to Chinese football.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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