Marie-Antoinette Katoto’s extraordinary season

After only 20 minutes of her side’s 16^th league match of the season against Montpellier, Marie Antoinette-Katoto put away a third Paris goal of the game with her 18^th strike of the campaign. The 20 year old deftly cushioned a cross from teammate Ashley Lawrence into the top corner of the net with stunning calmness and precision.

Katoto made her first appearance in the Rouge et Bleu in Paris’ 2014-2015 season and was slowly introduced into the rhythm of regular first division football over the coming years. At the start of the 2017/2018 campaign, the French international was one of the most eagerly watched players in the league. By the end of the season, during which the Colombes born forward amassed a goal per game ratio, she was one of the hottest properties in the whole of women's football. 

Over the last seven months, Katoto has bettered her previous campaign haul with 18 goals in 16 league games, three ahead of Lyon’s Ada Hegerberg who has 15 to her name. It’s not just in the league where the forward has excelled, in the Women’s Champions League, the number nine has five goals in four appearances, a record she’ll be hoping to extend against Chelsea in the quarter-finals later this month.

Check out Marie-Antoinette's stunning strike against Dijon in October:

Marie-Antoinette’s incredible year hasn’t gone unnoticed by the UNFP (National Union of Professional Footballers) who have nominated her alongside teammate Grace Geyoro for the award of Young Player of the Year.

Katoto will be hoping to match her personal accolades with those of her team come the end of the season. Paris Saint-Germain are neck and neck at the top of the league table with current leaders Olympique Lyonnais as well as looking to their upcoming games in the Europe. If the young striker’s form continues, the Parisians will have every chance of claiming honours come the season’s end.