Fans jubilant as Wu Lei scores to send Espanyol to Europa League

The Spanish club defeated Real Sociedad 2-0 on the final day of the season.

The 2018-19 season is a gift from God to all the football fans! So many surprises, so many cherishable memories created! And it is not confined to a specific country or a league, the world has seen some major unpredictable games and stories all over Europe.

Similar was the story of RCD Espanyol, the dark horses of the LaLiga, who took everyone by surprise and qualified for the Europa League next season. Of course, that took a lot of hard work from the entire squad but no one would have expected such a dramatic end to the season. Unbeaten in the last eight fixtures in the league, Espanyol even thrashed Atletico Madrid 3-0 at home.

In their final fixture against Real Sociedad though, they required to win by as large a difference as possible and hoped for the then seventh-placed Athletic Bilbao to lose at Sevilla and preferably by a greater margin. Now as thin as their chances looked to earn European football, all their hopes and hard work paid off!

Espanyol won the game 2-0 while on the other hand Bilbao lost with the same scoreline. Second-half strikes from Roberto Rosales and Wu Lei meant manager Rubi’s side went level on points with Bilbao and qualified for Europa League, thanks to their mere two-goal superiority on goal difference.

ALSO READ

• Vincent Kompany bids farewell to Manchester City

• I don't feel sorry for Liverpool- Kevin De Bruyne

• UEFA Champions League 2018-19: Five matches that defined this year's campaign

Celebrations broke loose at the Cornella-El Prat Stadium as delighted fans lifted on their shoulders the hero of the night, Wu Lei- the Chinese winger whose strike confirmed European football at the club next season.

If you'd asked us to guess what might feature on Marca's frontpage on the last day of the season, we'd never in a million years have guessed Wu Lei being held aloft by jubilant Espanyol fans... but we like it pic.twitter.com/lQZMXUF570

— The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) May 19, 2019

The 27-year-old had struck just twice in the season before and him netting such a crucial goal on the final day was one of the most unexpected scenarios for Espanyol fans. It must have been a dream come true for the player as he featured on the front page of Marca-one of the biggest newspapers in Europe!

An inspiring story as that of Espanyol, it would be even more delightful to watch them lock horns with the European big guns next season.