2023–24 Women's Super League
Football league season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2023–24 Women's Super League season (also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th season of the Women's Super League (WSL) since it was formed in 2010. It was the fifth season after the rebranding of the four highest levels in English women's football.[1]
| Season | 2023–24 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1 October 2023 – 18 May 2024 |
| Champions | Chelsea 7th title |
| Relegated | Bristol City |
| Champions League | Chelsea Manchester City Arsenal |
| Matches | 132 |
| Goals | 437 (3.31 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Khadija Shaw (21 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Chelsea 8–0 Bristol City 5 May 2024 |
| Biggest away win | Aston Villa 0–6 Chelsea 4 November 2023 Manchester United 0–6 Chelsea 18 May 2024 |
| Highest scoring | Bristol City 3–7 Brighton & Hove Albion 3 March 2024 |
| Longest winning run | 14 games Manchester City |
| Longest unbeaten run | 14 games Manchester City |
| Longest winless run | 17 games Bristol City |
| Longest losing run | 9 games Bristol City |
| Highest attendance | 60,160 Arsenal 3–1 Manchester United 17 February 2024 |
| Total attendance | 971,977 |
| Average attendance | 7,363 |
← 2022–23 2024–25 → | |
Reigning champions Chelsea won their fifth consecutive and seventh overall title. Bristol City were relegated to the Championship.
Teams
Twelve teams contested the 2023–24 Women's Super League season. Bristol City were confirmed as 2022–23 Women's Championship champions on 3 April 2022, ensuring that they would return to the WSL for the first time since the 2020–21 season after a two-year absence.[2] They replaced Reading, who were relegated after defeat on the final day to eventual WSL title winners Chelsea, ending a seven-season spell in the WSL dating back to 2016.[3]
Locations of the 2023–24 WSL teams
| Team | Location | Ground | Capacity | 2022–23 season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | Borehamwood | Meadow Park[a] | 4,500 | 3rd |
| Aston Villa | Walsall | Bescot Stadium[b] | 11,300 | 5th |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Crawley | Broadfield Stadium[c] | 5,800 | 11th |
| Bristol City | Bristol | Ashton Gate | 27,000 | WC, 1st |
| Chelsea | Kingston upon Thames | Kingsmeadow[d] | 4,850 | 1st |
| Everton | Liverpool | Walton Hall Park[e] | 2,200 | 6th |
| Leicester City | Leicester | King Power Stadium[f] | 32,212 | 10th |
| Liverpool | Birkenhead | Prenton Park[g] | 16,547 | 7th |
| Manchester City | Manchester | Academy Stadium[h] | 7,000 | 4th |
| Manchester United | Leigh | Leigh Sports Village[i] | 12,000 | 2nd |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Leyton | Brisbane Road[j] | 9,271 | 9th |
| West Ham United | Dagenham | Victoria Road | 6,078 | 8th |
- Six matches moved to Emirates Stadium.
- Three matches moved to Villa Park.
- Two matches moved to Falmer Stadium.
- Four matches moved to Stamford Bridge.
- Match v Liverpool moved to Goodison Park.
- Match v Aston Villa moved to Pirelli Stadium.
- Match v Manchester United moved to City of Manchester Stadium.
- Two matches moved to Old Trafford.
- Two matches moved to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Stadium changes
Ahead of the season, newly-promoted Bristol City confirmed the women's team's primary home ground would be the club's main stadium, Aston Gate. They moved from the Robins High Performance Centre in Failand after one season.[4]
In addition, nine of the 10 clubs whose women's team played at secondary stadia moved select matches to the club's primary ground throughout the season. West Ham United were the only team not to do this. Leicester City moved one match, against Aston Villa on 19 January 2024, to their backup venue of Pirelli Stadium in Burton upon Trent, due to maintenance at the King Power.[5]
Personnel and kits
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Ham United |  Paul Konchesky |
Mutual consent | 28 May 2023[11] | End of season (8th) | Rehanne Skinner |
20 July 2023[12] |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Vicky Jepson |
End of interim period | 30 June 2023[13] | End of season (9th) |  Robert Vilahamn |
7 July 2023[14] |
| Brighton & Hove Albion |  Melissa Phillips |
Sacked | 1 February 2024[15] | 10th | Mikey Harris (interim) |
1 February 2024[15] |
| Leicester City |  Willie Kirk |
Sacked[a] | 8 March 2024[17] | 7th | Jennifer Foster (interim) |
8 March 2024[16][17] |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea (C) | 22 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 71 | 18 | +53 | 55 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Manchester City | 22 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 61 | 15 | +46 | 55 | Qualification for the Champions League second round |
| 3 | Arsenal | 22 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 53 | 20 | +33 | 50 | Qualification for the Champions League first round |
| 4 | Liverpool | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 36 | 28 | +8 | 41 | |
| 5 | Manchester United | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 42 | 32 | +10 | 35 | |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 31 | 36 | −5 | 31 | |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 27 | 43 | −16 | 24 | |
| 8 | Everton | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 24 | 37 | −13 | 23 | |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 26 | 48 | −22 | 19 | |
| 10 | Leicester City | 22 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 26 | 45 | −19 | 18 | |
| 11 | West Ham United | 22 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 20 | 45 | −25 | 15 | |
| 12 | Bristol City (R) | 22 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 20 | 70 | −50 | 6 | Relegation to the Championship |
Source: Women's Super League Table
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Results
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[18] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Khadija Shaw |
Manchester City | 21 |
| 2 | Lauren James |
Chelsea | 13 |
 Elisabeth Terland |
Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
| 4 | Alessia Russo |
Arsenal | 12 |
| 5 | Aggie Beever-Jones |
Chelsea | 11 |
| Lauren Hemp |
Manchester City | ||
| 7 |  Amalie Thestrup |
Bristol City | 9 |
| 8 | Rachel Daly |
Aston Villa | 8 |
| Beth Mead |
Arsenal | ||
 Sjoeke Nüsken |
Chelsea | ||
| Nikita Parris |
Manchester United |
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets[19] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khiara Keating |
Manchester City | 9 |
| 2 | Mary Earps |
Manchester United | 7 |
| 3 | Hannah Hampton |
Chelsea | 6 |
| 4 |  Courtney Brosnan |
Everton | 5 |
| Rachael Laws |
Liverpool | ||
 Manuela Zinsberger |
Arsenal | ||
| 7 | Zećira Mušović |
Chelsea | 4 |
| 8 |  Teagan Micah |
Liverpool | 3 |
| 9 | Mackenzie Arnold |
West Ham United | 2 |
| Sophie Baggaley |
Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
| Ann-Katrin Berger |
Chelsea | ||
 Sabrina D'Angelo |
Arsenal | ||
 Daphne van Domselaar |
Aston Villa | ||
 Anna Leat |
Aston Villa | ||
| Rebecca Spencer |
Tottenham Hotspur |
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martha Thomas |
Tottenham Hotspur | Aston Villa | 4–2 (A) | 21 October 2023 | [20] |
| Sjoeke Nüsken |
Chelsea | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4–2 (H) | 22 October 2023 | [21] |
| Lauren James |
Chelsea | Liverpool | 5–1 (H) | 18 November 2023 | [22] |
| Khadija Shaw |
Manchester City | Tottenham Hotspur | 7–0 (H) | 26 November 2023 | [23] |
| Everton | 4–1 (A) | 17 December 2023 | [24] | ||
| Lauren James |
Chelsea | Manchester United | 3–1 (H) | 21 January 2024 | [25] |
| Khadija Shaw |
Manchester City | Liverpool | 5–1 (H) | [26] | |
| Guro Reiten4 |
Chelsea | Bristol City | 8–0 (H) | 5 May 2024 | [27] |
| Leanne Kiernan |
Liverpool | Leicester City | 4–0 (A) | 18 May 2024 | [28] |
- Notes
4 Player scored 4 goals
Discipline
| Most yellow cards | Total | Most red cards | Total | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player |  Hawa Cissoko (West Ham United) Katie McCabe (Arsenal) |
8 | 12 players | 1 | [29] |
| Club | Liverpool | 41 | Manchester City | 4 | [29] |
Attendances
| # | Football club | Average attendance[30] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 29,999 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 10,957 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 9,266 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 7,108 |
| 5 | Bristol City | 6,974 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 5,100 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 4,668 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4,317 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 3,553 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 2,656 |
| 11 | Everton | 2,071 |
| 12 | West Ham United | 1,892 |
Awards
Monthly awards
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Goal of the Month | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | ||
| October | Willie Kirk |
Leicester City | Martha Thomas |
Tottenham Hotspur | Cloé Lacasse (vs. Manchester United) |
Arsenal | [31][32][33] |
| November | Jonas Eidevall |
Arsenal | Lauren James |
Chelsea | Rachel Daly (vs. West Ham United) |
Aston Villa | [34][35][36] |
| December | Matt Beard |
Liverpool | Khadija Shaw |
Manchester City | Danielle Turner (vs. Manchester City) |
[37][38][39] | |
| January | Emma Hayes |
Chelsea | Lauren James |
Chelsea | Vivianne Miedema (vs. Liverpool) |
Arsenal | [40][41][42] |
| February |  Gareth Taylor |
Manchester City | Khiara Keating |
Manchester City |  Aurora Galli (vs. West Ham United) |
Everton | [43][44][45] |
| March | Jess Park |
Khadija Shaw (vs. Liverpool) |
Manchester City | [46] | |||
| April | Brian Sørensen |
Everton | Alessia Russo |
Arsenal | Ella Toone (vs. Leicester City) |
Manchester United | [47][48][49] |
Annual awards
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Barclays WSL Player of the Season[50] | Khadija Shaw |
Manchester City |
| Barclays WSL Manager of the Season[51] | Matt Beard |
Liverpool |
| Barclays WSL Goal of the Season[52] | Danielle Turner (vs. Manchester City) |
Aston Villa |
| PFA Players' Player of the Year[53] | Khadija Shaw |
Manchester City |
| PFA Young Player of the Year[54] | Grace Clinton |
Tottenham Hotspur |
| FWA Footballer of the Year[55] | Khadija Shaw |
Manchester City |
| PFA Team of the Year[56] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Khiara Keating (Manchester City) | |||||||||||
| Defenders |  Laia Aleixandri (Manchester City) |
Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal) |
Alex Greenwood (Manchester City) |
Niamh Charles (Chelsea) | ||||||||
| Midfielders | Grace Clinton (Tottenham Hotspur) |
Erin Cuthbert (Chelsea) |
 Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City) | |||||||||
| Forwards | Lauren James (Chelsea) |
Khadija Shaw (Manchester City) |
Lauren Hemp (Manchester City) | |||||||||