WATCH: Wu Lei First Chinese Player to Score in European Competition

Wu Lei made history last week, becoming the first Chinese national to score in the main stages of European competition, as he gave Espanyol a 1-0 lead away to CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Europa League.

The 27-year-old made an angled run to meet a ball from team-mate Matías Vargas and dinked it over goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev to put the Barcelona side ahead in Moscow. Espanyol ran out 2-0 winners on the night.

The former Shanghai SIPG forward and Chinese international is not the first man from his country to have scored in a UEFA club competition, however. That honour goes to Sun Jihai, who netted for Manchester City in a UEFA Cup qualifier against The New Saints on 14 August 2003. 

It took another decade for a fellow countryman to match his achievement, Wang Chu striking in both legs for Luxembourg's Jeunesse Esch as they got the better of Finland's TPS Turku in a 2013/14 UEFA Europa League qualifier.

And now Wu Lei, whose dramatic goal in the last game of last season sealed Espanyol place in the Europa League, has done it in the group stages. 

Watch the goal below (VPN off):

[Cover image via Sina]