Leeds United fan favourite Pablo Hernandez scores on his Castellón debut

Pablo Hernandez celebrates legendary goal against Swansea.

Pablo Hernandez scored the only Castellón goal in his new side’s 3-1 defeat to Albacete.

'It's a dream' - Leeds United hero Pablo Hernandez reflects on sealing emotional...

Despite Hernandez seeing little Premier League action in his last season at Leeds, fans were sad to see him go and left the number-19 in no doubt about their gratitude during his final match in white, where fans showed their appreciation for the Spaniard’s vital contribution to the club throughout their promotion season and beyond.

As Castellón prepared for their first match of the season, Leeds United fans were surprised to find their treasured midfielder was on the bench, but the Spaniard explained his exclusion from the starting XI in a post-match interview.

“I hope to be available to play the whole game and next week,” Pablo Hernandez told fans in a clip tweeted out by Castellón. “In this game, without having played a minute in preseason, it would have been taking a little risk.”

By the time Hernandez was introduced on 63 minutes, his side were 2-0 down, but it didn’t take long for the 36-year-old to make a crucial impact.

Twelve minutes into his debut, Hernandez picked up a loose ball on the edge of the penalty box, and took a couple of touches before caressing the ball into the side netting at the far post.

Pablo Hernandez in action against Swansea.

It wasn’t enough to save his team, though, and the match ended in defeat for Castellón, who ended the first matchday of the season in the Segunda División B relegation zone.

Needless to say, when Hernandez fired home just twelve minutes after taking to the field in his famous number-19 shirt, the reaction stretched from Spain’s east coast all the way to West Yorkshire, as Leeds United fans piled onto Castellón’s goal tweet with a range of enthusiastic responses, Bielsa gifs galore and shouts of ‘EL MAGO.’

Here's what Leeds fans made of the moment:

@71Tonka: #MOT all castellon aren’t we.

@oneilstevens_10: Class is permanent

@richardblock24: What a beautiful man. I miss him so.

@jimlufc: Give us him back now

@bagguley_reece: Pablo just doing pablo things ! #MOT

@dwalsh28: How many times have we seen him do this

@LUFCJamie1919: Standard Pablo right there.

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