Football
Leonard Solms, Special to ESPN 2y

Malawi's Chawinga shines as Chinese Super League resumes

April saw a new Chinese Women's Super League season get underway and Tabitha Chawinga come flying out of the blocks.

The Malawi international tops our Women's Power Rankings for April, with Nigeria, Cameroon, Zambia and Ivory Coast also represented.

Asisat Oshoala returned to action for Barcelona, but did not have a chance to make enough of an impact to instantly reclaim her spot in our top 10.

1. Tabitha Chawinga, Wuhan Jiangda

Chawinga raced to the top of the Chinese Women's Super League scoring charts in the first five rounds, netting five goals for Wuhan Jiangda.

The elder Chawinga sister hit back-to-back braces in the 3-0 win over Beijing BG Phoenix and the 4-0 drubbing of Henan Jianye, after scoring her opening goal of the season in a 3-1 win over Sichuan. Wuhan currently top the league table with 15 points from their opening five games.

2. Ifeoma Onumonu, Gotham FC

Onumonu impressed for club and country alike this month, scoring in Gotham's 1-1 NWSL Challenge Cup draw with North Carolina Courage, before netting for Nigeria in their impressive 2-2 draw with Olympic champions Canada.

Onumonu's equaliser against the Courage came in the 85th minute as she headed home Kristie Mewis's corner, punishing the Courage for not taking their chances to put the match to bed.

In the Super Falcons' clash with Canada, Onumonu capitalised off their failure to clear a Toni Payne free-kick, latching onto the loose ball and scoring the opener from close range in the fifth minute. Nigeria led twice in the match, but were unable to hang on for victory.

3. Chiamaka Nnadozie, Paris FC

April was a triumphant month for Nnadozie and Paris FC as they secured their place at next season's UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL).

Nnadozie kept a clean sheet against European giants Paris Saint-Germain in a superb derby display from her side in a 0-0 draw.

After keeping goal on international duty in Nigeria's 2-0 defeat and 2-2 draw with Canada, Nnadozie returned for Paris' 3-1 win over Montpellier.

The win means her team is 10 points clear of Fleury 91 in the race for third place and thus guaranteed of UWCL football next season.

4. Uchenna Kanu, Tigres UANL

Kanu continued her tremendous form for Tigres, hitting her second hat-trick of the Liga MX Femenil season.

The Nigeria international netted three times in the 4-1 home win over Santos Laguna and her personal tally for the season now sits at 10 goals. The team sits third in the Clausura, trailing leaders Monterrey by five points.

Kanu previously scored a hat-trick shortly after arriving at the club in a 5-1 win over Atlas. Having left Sweden as one of the most prolific Damallsvenskan scorers, she has picked up where she left off.

5. Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene, Eskilstuna United

Okobi-Okeoghene had a productive month, both in front of goal and creatively. She set up Paulina Nyström's opener in the 10th minute against Kristianstad and scored in the 77th minute of the same match.

Eskilstuna lost the lead on two occasions and drew the match 2-2, though Okobi-Okeoghene can hardly be faulted for that. They currently sit eighth in the Damallsvenskan with seven points from five games.

6. Gabrielle Onguéné, CSKA Moscow

Experienced 33-year-old Cameroon striker Onguéné found her scoring boots in April, netting for CSKA Moscow in back-to-back fixtures.

Onguéné was on target in the 4-1 win over Krasnodar on April 17 and scored the winner from the penalty spot in the 2-1 victory over Rostov six days later.

CSKA sit second in the table with seven wins from eight games and a single defeat to Zenit, who top the log with seven wins out of seven.

7. Racheal Kundananji, Eibar

Zambia forward Kundananji took a while to settle at Eibar, but appears to have well and truly found her feet in Spain.

Kundananji netted twice against Granadilla Tenerife and has already got May off to a superb start by scoring in the 1-1 draw with Villarreal to keep her team's slim survival hopes alive.

Aged 21, she has good reason to hope that even if Eibar go down, she will be rewarded for her form in recent months by a move to a bigger team.

8. Rasheedat Ajibade, Atlético Madrid

Nigeria veteran Ajibade has had her most prolific season in front of goal for Atlético Madrid, and has 10 goals in the Primera Iberdrola.

Atlético sit third in the Primera Iberdrola at the time of writing and it is a three-horse race between Las Rojiblancas, Real Madrid and Granadilla Tenerife for the final UEFA Champions League spot next season, with Barcelona home and dry and Real Sociedad almost out of reach.

She was also on target for the Super Falcons in their 2-2 draw with Canada. Ajibade appeared to be attempting to float the ball into the area from Nigeria's left, but it evaded both teammate Ifeoma Onumonu and Canada goalkeeper Sabrina D'Angelo, ending up in the net.

9. Ajara Nchout, Inter Milan

Nchout continued her steady goalscoring form this season for Inter Milan, netting in the 4-0 win over Hellas Verona to make it seven goals in 16 Serie A appearances for the Cameroon forward.

Inter beat Fiorentina 2-0 prior to the Hellas victory and currently sit fifth in the league.

Nchout is arguably Cameroon's star player and will be looking to finish off the campaign on a high with the Africa Women's Cup of Nations [AWCON] looming.

10. Rosemonde Kouassi, Fleury 91

April may have been a disappointing month for Fleury 91 due to missing out on UEFA Women's Champions League qualification, but one positive was Rosemonde Kouassi continuing her superb form.

The 20-year-old Ivorian striker scored in the 2-1 defeat to Olympique Lyon, having also netted against PSG in late March. Within the space of a month, Kouassi thus scored against both of France's dominant clubs.

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