China’s star footballer Wu Lei came off the bench to score one goal and set up the other in Espanyol’s 2-0 win over Sporting Gijón in the Spanish Segunda Division on Sunday, his first goal and assist since the opening day in September. Wu changed the game when he came on in the 76th minute, opening the scoring 12 minutes later and then laying on a goal for Sergi Darder in the seventh minute of added time. The win, their third on the spin, takes them to the top of the second tier on 36 points, one clear of Mallorca, though the island side have a game in hand. Wu spoke of the hard-earned nature of the win to the club’s official television channel, saying it is typical of the Spanish second tier. We beat Sporting 2-0 at home this afternoon, with two late goals from Wu Lei and @SergiDarder . That win takes us to the top of the table ahead of Mallorca’s match tomorrow. Next up is Logroñés away next Sunday ⚪️ #rcde pic.twitter.com/lPEfVxhMF7 — RCD ESPANYOL ENGLAND (@ESCE_RCDE) December 6, 2020 “Not only in this game, in every game, the opponent is very targeted when facing us, so every game is very difficult,” Wu told Espanyol TV. “Basically every game, it’s in our own hands, but we also know that scoring is not easy. But once we can score the first goal, the rest will be much easier. “The overall level of the Segunda Division is bad. When other teams encounter us, they will treat us as very tough opponents. We can take the initiative, but we need to score the first goal as soon as possible.” Wu Lei makes winning start in Spanish second division It was only Wu’s second goal and assist of the season, with the first of each coming in the 3-0 win over Albacete on opening day on September 12. The former Shanghai SIPG star’s campaign has been disrupted by injury and he has missed five of Espanyol’s 17 games. He has not played a full game since returning to the squad and dropped to the bench after starting the last two games, both of which saw him come off after around an hour as he regains fitness. Wu spoke of his injury absence, saying: “Indeed, due to injuries a while ago, my physical and competitive state was not very good. Maybe I have not fully recovered to my best state. After his 1st goal in the 1st match of the season almost 3 months ago, Wu Lei scored his 2nd goal of the season after being substituted into the home match against Sporting Gijón: he broke the deadlock with 3 mins remaining before setting up for Darder to double the lead. pic.twitter.com/OgRqpw2PeN — Titan Sports Plus (@titan_plus) December 7, 2020 “During this period, the coach has given me a lot of help and a lot of confidence. I am very grateful. I hope that in the future, I can be back to my best and bring more help to the team.” Wu chose to extend his stay at the Barcelona-based side, despite them being relegated from the Primera Liga last season. He had been linked with moves to a number of clubs around Europe, including English Premier League side Wolves and Turkey’s Besiktas.