GOAL50 2021 Head to Head: Billa vs Shaw

GOAL50 has returned – but it looks a little bit different.

For the first time, it will be the fans that decide who are crowned the best male and female players in the world. The power lies in your hands.

The voting system means a whole host of match-ups can occur - between team-mates, between rivals, between world-renowned stars or between exciting young talents.

One battle that has quite a few similarities will see Manchester City star Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw face Hoffenheim's goal-scoring machine Nicole Billa. There are a lot of differences in the way these two prolific strikers play, but little to separate their brilliant 2020-21 seasons.

Before she moved to England this summer, Shaw was lighting up the league in France for Bordeaux. It was there that she produced form that landed her a spot on the GOAL50 shortlist.

The 24-year-old signed for the club in the summer of 2019, having just played for Jamaica at their first ever Women's World Cup. Immediately, she was off the mark, scoring two of her 10 goals for the season on her debut. What followed last season was even better.

Despite Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain being the two teams to beat in France, and often having their star attackers at the top of the goal-scoring charts, it was Shaw who emerged with the Golden Boot, scoring an incredible 22 goals in just 20 games – with seven assists on top of that, too.

Getty/Goal

Not only did it give her personal success – including the move to Man City that would follow – but it also secured Bordeaux Women's Champions League qualification for the first time in their history.

The incredibly difficult circumstances Shaw has endured on her way to the top – she lost four of her brothers – make her achievements all the more impressive and her story all the more inspiring. 

Billa, too, was the topscorer in her league last season, for a team that isn't among its traditional powerhouses, and her goals also helped that team get into Europe.

The 25-year-old scored 23 goals in just 21 Frauen-Bundesliga games for Hoffenheim, an impressive six more than any other player in a league that boasts a giant in Bayern Munich and the two-time European champions Wolfsburg.

Those goals – plus a decent return of five assists – helped put the club third in the standings, enough for a place in Europe, with them going on to land a spot in a group with reigning European champions Barcelona and another previous winner, Arsenal.

Her goals for her country have been equally important, too, with seven in eight qualifying games helping her to secure Austria's place at the 2022 UEFA Women's Euro.

Shaw and Billa might not be global stars in the women's game, but they have been two of the most in-form strikers on the planet in the past 12 months, in two of Europe's best leagues.

Who had the better year? That is for you to decide. Voting for GOAL50 ends on November 16 – make sure you have your say!