Wu Lei

Lei's 2021/22 season, read from the numbers

In 2021/22, Wu Lei was used in rotation for Espanyol in the La Liga: 23 appearances and 457 minutes, averaging 20 minutes per outing. Per 90 minutes that is 0.2 goals per 90, 1.0 shots per 90 and 100% of his shots on target — the rate profile behind Lei's totals.

Set against Lei's own record, 2021/22 reads differently: he is playing far less than he once did — 457 minutes against 1724 at his peak; his average match rating has slipped from 6.60 to 6.44 since 2019/20. Our records cover 3 seasons of Lei's career, 2018/19 to 2021/22, across 3 clubs — Espanyol, SHANGHAI SIPG, China. In that time he has played 139 matches across 8 competitions, 8,433 minutes in all.

His best return on our records was 32 goals in 2018/19, from 59 appearances. He is 27 appearances into the current one. Lei has 13 appearances in UEFA Europa League on our records, and he is modestly more productive in Europe - 0.22 per 90 domestically against 0.27 in Europe.

Away from his club, Lei has 16 appearances for China on our records, scoring 3 — across World Cup - Qualification Asia. Treat these rates carefully. At 457 minutes — roughly 5 full matches — Lei is 443 short of our 900-minute qualifying floor, so he does not appear on the ranking boards: on a sample this size two good afternoons move a per-90 number further than a month of steady form.

How these scores are built, and the minutes and rating floors a player must clear to appear on our boards, are set out in our methodology.