Chloe Kelly awarded April Barclays’ Player of the Month for first time after Man City goal-fest

Manchester City’s Chloe Kelly has been awarded April Barclays’ Player of the Month accolade after contributing to a goal-filled month for the side.

It is the first time she has won the award this season. “It feels amazing to win this award and it was a great month for us," said Kelly. "It was really nice to get some goals and assists and to help the team as much as I can. I’m feeling really good at the moment but it’s the team’s performances that allow me to pickup awards like this."

The forward was noted as their most effective player throughout April aiding her side to bounce back from the initial loss to Arsenal for two league wins on the bounce. The team collectively scored 12 goals in their three ties: a 2-1 loss to Arsenal was turned around by a 6-2 thrashing of West Ham followed by a 4-1 defeat of Reading, Kelly was responsible for six.

She assisted Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw to take the early lead at Meadow Park, with a perfectly struck looping cross to meet Shaw’s head and hit the back of the net in the fifth minute. Kelly then went on to score an early brace in the sixth and seventh minutes against West Ham while also assisting Mary Fowler.

Her high pressure was rewarded with a first-touch, long-range strike that hit the target, repeated a minute later with another one-touch-finish into the bottom left-hand corner. Kelly’s set-piece delivery found Fowler to finish the game 6-2 winners, at home.

To round the month off, she brought City back on equal terms with Reading with a nudge into the net from close range in the first half. Kelly had a fantastic game against the Royals, with seven shots, creating eight chances and providing yet another assist to extend the Sky Blues lead when she delivered a timely cross met by