Wu Lei meets Messi in Barcelonian Derby

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Lionel Messi scored twice to earn Barcelona a 2-0 derby win over Espanyol and send them 10 points clear at the top of La Liga on Saturday.

Espanyol Chinese forward Wu Lei replaced Borja Iglesias at the 64th minute to be the single forward in the 5-4-1 formation, while Messi lofted home a free kick seven minutes later and slotted in another from substitute Malcom's cross towards the end.

Wu Lei of Espanyol is defended by Arturo Vidal of Barcelona during the La Liga match at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, March 30, 2019. /VCG Photo

Messi, the division's top scorer with 31 goals, suffered criticism in his native Argentina after withdrawing from a friendly against Morocco because of a groin problem, but was hailed by Barcelona fans after taking them one step closer to retaining the title.

Wu's absence in the starting line-up let down some of his fans as millions of them stayed awake to watch his performance on Saturday at midnight, Beijing time. But Wu made a couple of threats in front of Barca's goal, even though he was feeling unwell.

Wu told PPTV after the match, "The atmosphere in Camp Nou is very good. Barcelona is one of the best soccer clubs in the world. I'm very happy to play this match."

Barcelona fans show the Tifo "We are your nightmare" in the Barcelonian Derby at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, March 30, 2019. /VCG Photo

When asked about being the substitute, he said, "It was normal for planning the match. After all, I came here just for two months, I have a lot of aspects to improve on, not like domestic fans saying I'm an absolute 'core player' of the team."

"In fact, my progress has gone beyond my expectation as I made a lot of effort. For me, now, just having the opportunity to play in formal matches is enough. It will give me the chance to exercise and improve. I always keep the same heart as when I first arrived in Europe," he said.

Talking about the feeling of confronting Messi after 11 years on the pitch, Wu said, "Messi is one of the best players on Earth. Today, he broke the stalemate of the match. He's very good."

Wu Lei #24 of Espanyol waits for Lionel Messi of Barcelona to launch a free kick during the La Liga match at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, March 30, 2019. /VCG Photo

Wu's former club Shanghai SIPG also said on Weibo, "Wu Lei realized an unbelievable dream" to celebrate the historical meeting.

Millions of messages in the live match's chatroom demonstrated enthusiasm about the promising Chinese soccer star.

According to Xinhua News Agency, some of the comments from Chinese netizens for the match were: "Meeting world top-notch player is already a proud experience for Wu Lei," "Wu activated Messi," "The match was only 27 minutes for me," "Even though I'm a Barca fan, I couldn't stop myself to support Espanyol when Wu Lei got on the pitch," "Wu Lei is our only expectation in Europe, hope next time Messi could exchange his jersey with Wu."

(L-R) Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann, Jorge Resurreccion 'Koke' and Saul Niguez celebrate during the La Liga match against Deportivo Alaves at Estadio de Mendizorroza in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, March 30, 2019. /VCG Photo

Meanwhile, Girona lost to Athletic Bilbao 1-2 on Friday.

On Saturday, Atletico Madrid thrashed Alaves 4-0 to keep alive their faint hopes of winning the La Liga title, the fourth-placed Getafe suffered a 2-0 loss to Leganes, while Celta Vigo came from behind in the second half to deny Villareal first quarter's two-goal lead with a 3-2 home win.

(With input from agencies)