2021–22 FA WSL
Eleventh season of the top English women's association football league
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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.
| Season | 2021–22 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 3 September 2021 – 8 May 2022 |
| Champions | Chelsea 5th title[1] |
| Relegated | Birmingham City |
| Champions League | Chelsea Arsenal Manchester City |
| Matches | 132 |
| Goals | 384 (2.91 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Sam Kerr (20 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Arsenal 7–0 Aston Villa 1 May 2022 |
| Biggest away win | Leicester City 0–9 Chelsea 27 March 2022 |
| Highest scoring | Leicester City 0–9 Chelsea 27 March 2022 Manchester City 7–2 Brighton & Hove Albion 30 April 2022 |
| Longest winning run | 9 matches Chelsea Manchester City |
| Longest unbeaten run | 13 matches Chelsea |
| Longest winless run | 10 matches Birmingham City Reading |
| Longest losing run | 9 matches Leicester City |
| Highest attendance | 20,241 Manchester United 3–1 Everton (27 March 2022) |
| Lowest attendance | 298 Birmingham City 0–3 Reading (7 November 2021) |
← 2020–21 2022–23 → | |
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]
| 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 |  Jonas Eidevall |
 Kim Little |
Adidas | Fly Emirates |
| Aston Villa |  Carla Ward |
 Marisa Ewers |
Kappa | Cazoo |
| Birmingham City | Darren Carter (interim) |
 Louise Quinn |
Nike | SmartMeds |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Hope Powell |
Danielle Bowman |
Nike | American Express |
| Chelsea | Emma Hayes |
Magdalena Eriksson |
Nike | Three |
| Everton | Chris Roberts (interim) |
Lucy Graham |
Hummel | MegaFon[a] |
| Leicester City | Lydia Bedford |
Sophie Barker |
Adidas | FBS |
| Manchester City |  Gareth Taylor |
Steph Houghton |
Puma | Etihad Airways |
| Manchester United | Marc Skinner |
Katie Zelem |
Adidas | TeamViewer |
| Reading | Kelly Chambers |
Natasha Harding |
Macron | YLD |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Rehanne Skinner |
 Shelina Zadorsky |
Nike | AIA |
| West Ham United |  Olli Harder |
Gilly Flaherty |
Umbro | Betway |
- 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 | Marcus Bignot (interim) |
End of interim period[9] | 10 May 2021 | End of season (10th) | Carla Ward |
20 May 2021[10] |
| Birmingham City | Carla Ward |
Resigned[11] | 16 May 2021 | End of season (11th) | Scott Booth |
30 June 2021[12] |
| Arsenal |  Joe Montemurro |
Resigned[13] | 16 May 2021 | End of season (3rd) | Jonas Eidevall |
28 June 2021[14] |
| Manchester United | Casey Stoney |
Resigned[15] | 16 May 2021 | End of season (4th) | Marc Skinner |
29 July 2021[16] |
| Everton | Willie Kirk |
Sacked[17] | 16 October 2021 | 8th |  Jean-Luc Vasseur |
29 October 2021[18] |
| Birmingham City | Scott Booth |
Sacked[19] | 18 November 2021 | 11th | Tony Elliott (interim) |
18 November 2021 |
| Birmingham City | Tony Elliott (interim) |
End of interim period[20] | 21 November 2021 | 11th | Darren Carter[a] |
21 November 2021[20] |
| Leicester City | Jonathan Morgan |
Sacked[22] | 25 November 2021 | 12th | Emile Heskey (interim) |
25 November 2021[22] |
| Leicester City | Emile Heskey (interim) |
End of interim period[23] | 6 December 2021 | 12th | Lydia Bedford |
6 December 2021[23] |
| Everton | Jean-Luc Vasseur |
Sacked[24] | 2 February 2022 | 10th | Chris Roberts (interim) |
2 February 2022[24] |
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 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Results
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.
| Leader and Champions League group stage | |
| Champions League second round | |
| Champions League first round | |
| Relegation to Championship |
Results by round
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[25] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Kerr |
Chelsea | 20 |
| 2 |  Vivianne Miedema |
Arsenal | 14 |
| 3 | Beth Mead |
Arsenal | 11 |
| 4 | Lauren Hemp |
Manchester City | 10 |
| 5 | Alessia Russo |
Manchester United | 9 |
 Khadija Shaw |
Manchester City | ||
| 7 | Bethany England |
Chelsea | 8 |
| Leah Galton |
Manchester United | ||
| Georgia Stanway |
Manchester City | ||
| 10 | Ella Toone |
Manchester United | 7 |
 Guro Reiten |
Chelsea |
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets[26] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Manuela Zinsberger |
Arsenal | 13 |
| 2 | Mary Earps |
Manchester United | 10 |
| 3 | Ann-Katrin Berger |
Chelsea | 9 |
| 4 | Ellie Roebuck |
Manchester City | 8 |
| 5 | Grace Moloney |
Reading | 7 |
| Zećira Mušović |
Chelsea | ||
| 7 | Megan Walsh |
Brighton & Hove Albion | 6 |
| 8 | Rebecca Spencer |
Tottenham Hotspur | 5 |
| 9 | Hannah Hampton |
Aston Villa | 4 |
| Demi Lambourne |
Leicester City | ||
| Sandy MacIver |
Everton |
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Kerr |
Chelsea | Birmingham City | 5–0 (H) | 21 November 2021 | [27] |
| 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 | Maéva Clemaron (Tottenham Hotspur) Katie McCabe (Arsenal) |
7 | Hawa Cissoko (West Ham United) |
2 | [28] |
| Club | Tottenham Hotspur | 39 | West Ham United | 2 | [29] |
Awards
Monthly awards
Annual awards
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Barclays FA WSL Player of the Season | Sam Kerr[46] |
Chelsea |
| Barclays FA WSL Manager of the Season | Emma Hayes[46] |
Chelsea |
| PFA Players' Player of the Year | Sam Kerr[47] |
Chelsea |
| PFA Young Player of the Year | Lauren Hemp[48] |
Manchester City |
| FWA Footballer of the Year | Sam Kerr[49] |
Chelsea |
| PFA Team of the Year[50] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | |||||||||||
| Defenders |  Ona Batlle (Manchester United) |
Millie Bright (Chelsea) |
Leah Williamson (Arsenal) |
Alex Greenwood (Manchester City) | ||||||||
| Midfielders | Guro Reiten (Chelsea) |
Caroline Weir (Manchester City) |
Kim Little (Arsenal) | |||||||||
| Forwards | Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal) |
Sam Kerr (Chelsea) |
Lauren Hemp (Manchester City) | |||||||||