2021–22 FA WSL

FA WSL
Season2021–22
Dates3 September 2021 – 8 May 2022
ChampionsChelsea
5th title[1]
RelegatedBirmingham City
Champions LeagueChelsea
Arsenal
Manchester City
Matches played132
Goals scored384 (2.91 per match)
Top goalscorerSam Kerr
(20 goals)
Biggest home winArsenal 7–0 Aston Villa
1 May 2022
Biggest away winLeicester City 0–9 Chelsea
27 March 2022
Highest scoringLeicester City 0–9 Chelsea
27 March 2022
Manchester City 7–2 Brighton & Hove Albion
30 April 2022
Longest winning run9 matches
Chelsea
Manchester City
Longest unbeaten run13 matches
Chelsea
Longest winless run10 matches
Birmingham City
Reading
Longest losing run9 matches
Leicester City
Highest attendance20,241
Manchester United 3–1 Everton
(27 March 2022)
Lowest attendance298
Birmingham City 0–3 Reading
(7 November 2021)

The 2021–22 FA WSL season (also known as the Barclays FA Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh season of the FA Women's Super League (WSL) since it was formed in 2010.[2] It was the fourth season after the rebranding of the four highest levels in English women's football.

On 4 May 2022, Birmingham City were relegated following a 6–0 defeat away at Manchester City with one game remaining. Members of the WSL since it was founded in 2011, it ended Birmingham's twenty-year stint as a top-flight club having last been promoted as the 2001–02 FA Women's Premier League Northern Division champions.[3]

Chelsea successfully defended the title by beating Manchester United 4–2 in the final matchday, winning their third consecutive and fifth overall WSL title.[4]

Teams

Twelve teams contested the 2021–22 FA WSL season. At the end of the previous season, Bristol City were relegated after four seasons in the WSL while Leicester City were promoted for the first time.[5]

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the 2021–22 FA WSL teams
Team Location Ground Capacity 2020–21 season
Arsenal Borehamwood Meadow Park 4,502 3rd
Aston Villa Walsall Bescot Stadium 11,300 10th
Birmingham City Birmingham St Andrew's 29,902 11th
Brighton & Hove Albion Crawley Broadfield Stadium 5,800 6th
Chelsea Kingston upon Thames Kingsmeadow 4,850 1st
Everton Liverpool Walton Hall Park 2,200 5th
Leicester City Leicester King Power Stadium 32,212 WC, 1st
Manchester City Manchester Academy Stadium 7,000 2nd
Manchester United Leigh Leigh Sports Village 12,000 4th
Reading Reading Madejski Stadium 24,161 7th
Tottenham Hotspur Canons Park The Hive Stadium 5,419 8th
West Ham United Dagenham Victoria Road 6,078 9th

Stadium changes

Two teams changed home ground prior to the start of the season: Birmingham City relocated from Damson Park to St Andrew's, home of the team's male affiliate since 1906.[6] Leicester City prepared for their maiden WSL season by moving to their parent club's main stadium, King Power Stadium, with Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium serving as backup when fixtures clash with Leicester's men's side.[7]

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Arsenal Sweden Jonas Eidevall Scotland Kim Little Adidas Fly Emirates
Aston Villa England Carla Ward Germany Marisa Ewers Kappa Cazoo
Birmingham City England Darren Carter (interim) Republic of Ireland Louise Quinn Nike SmartMeds
Brighton & Hove Albion England Hope Powell England Danielle Bowman Nike American Express
Chelsea England Emma Hayes Sweden Magdalena Eriksson Nike Three
Everton England Chris Roberts (interim) Scotland Lucy Graham Hummel MegaFon[a]
Leicester City England Lydia Bedford England Sophie Barker Adidas FBS
Manchester City Wales Gareth Taylor England Steph Houghton Puma Etihad Airways
Manchester United England Marc Skinner England Katie Zelem Adidas TeamViewer
Reading England Kelly Chambers Wales Natasha Harding Macron YLD
Tottenham Hotspur England Rehanne Skinner Canada Shelina Zadorsky Nike AIA
West Ham United New Zealand Olli Harder England Gilly Flaherty Umbro Betway
  1. ^ On 2 March 2022, Everton suspended the sponsorship deal with MegaFon and removed the logos from their shirts in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine due to Alisher Usmanov's close ties to Vladimir Putin.[8]

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Aston Villa England Marcus Bignot (interim) End of interim period[9] 10 May 2021 End of season (10th) England Carla Ward 20 May 2021[10]
Birmingham City England Carla Ward Resigned[11] 16 May 2021 End of season (11th) Scotland Scott Booth 30 June 2021[12]
Arsenal Australia Joe Montemurro Resigned[13] 16 May 2021 End of season (3rd) Sweden Jonas Eidevall 28 June 2021[14]
Manchester United England Casey Stoney Resigned[15] 16 May 2021 End of season (4th) England Marc Skinner 29 July 2021[16]
Everton Scotland Willie Kirk Sacked[17] 16 October 2021 8th France Jean-Luc Vasseur 29 October 2021[18]
Birmingham City Scotland Scott Booth Sacked[19] 18 November 2021 11th England Tony Elliott (interim) 18 November 2021
Birmingham City England Tony Elliott (interim) End of interim period[20] 21 November 2021 11th England Darren Carter[a] 21 November 2021[20]
Leicester City England Jonathan Morgan Sacked[22] 25 November 2021 12th England Emile Heskey (interim) 25 November 2021[22]
Leicester City England Emile Heskey (interim) End of interim period[23] 6 December 2021 12th England Lydia Bedford 6 December 2021[23]
Everton France Jean-Luc Vasseur Sacked[24] 2 February 2022 10th England Chris Roberts (interim) 2 February 2022[24]
  1. ^ Carter was initially appointed as interim manager, but the move was made permanent on 30 May 2022.[21]

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Chelsea (C) 22 18 2 2 62 11 +51 56 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Arsenal 22 17 4 1 65 10 +55 55 Qualification for the Champions League second round
3 Manchester City 22 15 2 5 60 22 +38 47 Qualification for the Champions League first round
4 Manchester United 22 12 6 4 45 22 +23 42
5 Tottenham Hotspur 22 9 5 8 24 23 +1 32
6 West Ham United 22 7 6 9 23 33 −10 27
7 Brighton & Hove Albion 22 8 2 12 24 38 −14 26
8 Reading 22 7 4 11 21 40 −19 25
9 Aston Villa 22 6 3 13 13 40 −27 21
10 Everton 22 5 5 12 18 41 −23 20
11 Leicester City 22 4 1 17 14 53 −39 13
12 Birmingham City (R) 22 3 2 17 15 51 −36 11 Relegation to the Championship
Source: FA WSL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away ARS ASV BIR BHA CHE EVE LEI MCI MNU REA TOT WHU
Arsenal — 7–0 4–2 2–1 3–2 3–0 4–0 5–0 1–1 4–0 3–0 4–0
Aston Villa 0–4 — 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 2–1 0–3 0–0 1–1 1–2 1–2
Birmingham City 2–0 0–1 — 0–5 0–1 0–0 1–2 2–3 0–2 0–3 0–2 0–1
Brighton & Hove Albion 0–3 0–1 1–3 — 0–0 1–1 1–0 0–6 0–2 4–1 2–1 2–0
Chelsea 0–0 1–0 5–0 3–1 — 4–0 2–0 1–0 4–2 5–0 2–1 2–0
Everton 0–3 0–2 3–1 0–1 0–3 — 3–2 0–4 1–1 1–2 2–2 1–1
Leicester City 0–5 1–2 2–0 1–0 0–9 0–1 — 1–4 1–3 0–0 0–2 3–0
Manchester City 1–1 5–0 6–0 7–2 0–4 4–0 4–0 — 1–0 2–0 1–2 0–2
Manchester United 0–2 5–0 5–0 1–0 1–6 3–1 4–0 2–2 — 2–0 3–0 3–0
Reading 0–4 3–0 3–2 2–0 1–0 0–3 1–0 0–4 1–3 — 0–0 1–2
Tottenham Hotspur 1–1 0–1 1–0 4–0 1–3 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 — 1–1
West Ham United 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–4 3–0 4–0 0–2 1–1 2–2 1–0 —
Source: The FA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological progress, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 13, but then postponed and played between rounds 16 and 17, it will be added to the standings for round 16.

Team ╲ Round12345678910111213141516171819202122
Chelsea7643222222222222211111
Arsenal4211111111111111122222
Manchester City1789979766555655444433
Manchester United3364455654433343333344
Tottenham Hotspur6422334433344434555555
West Ham United10875667577887778677666
Brighton & Hove Albion2157543345778887866777
Reading111111121098888666566788888
Aston Villa55367861010101010999910109999
Everton1212988101099999101010109910101010
Leicester City891010121212121211121111111111111111111111
Birmingham City9101211111111111112111212121212121212121212
Leader and Champions League group stage
Champions League second round
Champions League first round
Relegation to Championship
Source: FA WSL

Results by round

Team ╲ Round12345678910111213141516171819202122
ArsenalWWWWWWDWWLDWDDWWWWWWWW
Aston VillaWDWLLLWLLLLWLWLLLDWDLL
Birmingham CityLLLLDLLLLLWLLLLLLDWLLW
Brighton & Hove AlbionWWLLWWWLLLLDLLWWLWLLLD
ChelseaLWWWWWWWLDWWDWWWWWWWWW
EvertonLLWWLLDWDLLLLWWLLLDLDD
Leicester CityLLLLLLLLLWLWLWWLLLLLDL
Manchester CityWLLLDWLWWWWDLWWWWWWWWW
Manchester UnitedWWLWDDDLWWWWDLWWDWWDWL
ReadingLLLLWWDWWWWWLLDLLDLLDL
Tottenham HotspurWWWWLDDLWWDLWWDLLLLDLW
West Ham UnitedLDWWDLDWDDWLWLLWDWLWLL
Source: The FA
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals[25]
1 Australia Sam Kerr Chelsea 20
2 Netherlands Vivianne Miedema Arsenal 14
3 England Beth Mead Arsenal 11
4 England Lauren Hemp Manchester City 10
5 England Alessia Russo Manchester United 9
Jamaica Khadija Shaw Manchester City
7 England Bethany England Chelsea 8
England Leah Galton Manchester United
England Georgia Stanway Manchester City
10 England Ella Toone Manchester United 7
Norway Guro Reiten Chelsea

Clean sheets

Rank Player Club Clean
sheets[26]
1 Austria Manuela Zinsberger Arsenal 13
2 England Mary Earps Manchester United 10
3 Germany Ann-Katrin Berger Chelsea 9
4 England Ellie Roebuck Manchester City 8
5 Republic of Ireland Grace Moloney Reading 7
Sweden Zećira Mušović Chelsea
7 Republic of Ireland Megan Walsh Brighton & Hove Albion 6
8 Jamaica Rebecca Spencer Tottenham Hotspur 5
9 England Hannah Hampton Aston Villa 4
England Demi Lambourne Leicester City
England Sandy MacIver Everton

Hat-tricks

Player For Against Result Date Ref.
Australia Sam Kerr Chelsea Birmingham City 5–0 (H) 21 November 2021 [27]
Jamaica Khadija Shaw (4) Manchester City Brighton & Hove Albion 7–2 (H) 30 April 2022

Discipline

Most yellow cards Total Most red cards Total Ref.
Player France Maéva Clemaron (Tottenham Hotspur)
Republic of Ireland Katie McCabe (Arsenal) 		7 France Hawa Cissoko (West Ham United) 2 [28]
Club Tottenham Hotspur 39 West Ham United 2 [29]

Awards

Monthly awards

Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month Goal of the Month Ref.
Manager Club Player Club Player Club
September Sweden Jonas Eidevall Arsenal England Beth Mead Arsenal Denmark Pernille Harder (vs Manchester United) Chelsea [30][31]
October Sweden Jonas Eidevall Arsenal Republic of Ireland Katie McCabe Arsenal Republic of Ireland Katie McCabe (vs Aston Villa) Arsenal [32][33]
November England Kelly Chambers Reading Canada Jessie Fleming Chelsea England Alessia Russo (vs Tottenham Hotspur) Manchester United [34]
December England Marc Skinner Manchester United England Ella Toone Manchester United England Georgia Stanway (vs Birmingham City) Manchester City [35][36]
January England Marc Skinner Manchester United England Leah Galton Manchester United England Natasha Dowie (vs Leicester City) Reading [37][38]
February England Lydia Bedford Leicester City England Ashleigh Neville Tottenham Hotspur Scotland Caroline Weir (vs Manchester United) Manchester City [39][40]
March England Emma Hayes Chelsea England Alessia Russo Manchester United England Katie Zelem (vs Leicester City) Manchester United [41][42][43]
April England Darren Carter Birmingham City Australia Sam Kerr Chelsea Japan Yui Hasegawa (vs Reading) West Ham United [44][45]

Annual awards

Award Winner Club
Barclays FA WSL Player of the Season Australia Sam Kerr[46] Chelsea
Barclays FA WSL Manager of the Season England Emma Hayes[46] Chelsea
PFA Players' Player of the Year Australia Sam Kerr[47] Chelsea
PFA Young Player of the Year England Lauren Hemp[48] Manchester City
FWA Footballer of the Year Australia Sam Kerr[49] Chelsea
PFA Team of the Year[50]
Goalkeeper Germany Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea)
Defenders Spain Ona Batlle (Manchester United) England Millie Bright (Chelsea) England Leah Williamson (Arsenal) England Alex Greenwood (Manchester City)
Midfielders Norway Guro Reiten (Chelsea) Scotland Caroline Weir (Manchester City) Scotland Kim Little (Arsenal)
Forwards Netherlands Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal) Australia Sam Kerr (Chelsea) England Lauren Hemp (Manchester City)

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