Nigeria's Oshoala wins Golden Boot with Barcelona Femeni

Nigeria striker Asisat Oshoala has emerged as the top scorer in the women’s Spanish Primera Division with Barcelona Femeni.

The 27-year-old Super Falcons forward achieved the feat after scoring 20 goals in 19 league appearances and will share the award with Brazilian Geyse Ferreira, who managed 20 goals in 27 appearances for Madrid CFF.

The award was confirmed on Sunday after Barcelona finished the season with a 2-1 victory against Atletico Madrid at Estadi Johan Cruyff. In the game that saw both teams reduced to ten players, Oshoala was introduced in the 63rd minute for Jenifer Hermoso but she could not add to her tally of goals.

Barcelona scored through Irene Paredes in the 11th minute before Aitana Bonmati made it 2-0 in the 23rd minute. Amanda Sampedro pulled a goal back for Atletico in the 64th minute but this was after their player Merel van Dongen has been sent off for a second bookable offence.

Barcelona were also not spared as goal scorer Bonmati was red-carded in stoppage time.

It was versus Sporting de Huelva that Oshoala scored for the first time in the league this season in a 6-0 victory on October 18. She also had one assist to her name during the campaign.

Oshoala switched to Barcelona in July 2019 from Arsenal, for whom she made 13 league appearances in total, scoring two goals.

In topping the goal scorer’s chart, Oshoala, who stayed out of action for eight weeks this campaign owing to injury, became the first Nigerian to achieve the feat. Her goals also helped Barcelona to win the league title unbeaten with 30 wins in 30 games. The team scored 159 goals and conceded only 11.

Barcelona and Oshoala will now shift their focus to the Uefa Women’s Champions League final where they are scheduled to take on Lyon at Juventus Stadium on May 21. They will then take on Real Madrid in the semi-final of the Copa de la Reina at Santo Domingo four days later.