FA WSL
Season2020–21
Dates5 September 2020 – 9 May 2021
ChampionsChelsea
4th title
RelegatedBristol City
Champions LeagueChelsea
Manchester City
Arsenal
Matches played132
Goals scored413 (3.13 per match)
Top goalscorerSam Kerr
(21 goals)
Biggest home winChelsea 9–0 Bristol City
(13 September 2020)
Biggest away winWest Ham United 1–9 Arsenal
(12 September 2020)
Highest scoringWest Ham United 1–9 Arsenal
(12 September 2020)
Longest winning run12 matches
Manchester City
Longest unbeaten run16 matches
Manchester City
Longest winless run13 matches
Birmingham City
Longest losing run5 matches
Bristol City

The 2020–21 FA WSL season (also known as the Barclays FA Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons) was the tenth edition of the FA Women's Super League (WSL) since it was formed in 2010.[1] It was the third season after the rebranding of the four highest levels in English women's football.

From the 2020–21 season, the FA WSL was given three Champions League places per season, increased from the previous two.[2]

Chelsea were the defending champions, having been awarded the 2019–20 title on a points-per-game basis following the curtailment of the season due to COVID-19 pandemic in England.[3][4] They became the first team since Liverpool in 2014 to defend a WSL title.

Teams

Twelve teams contested the FA WSL this season. At the end of the previous season, Liverpool were relegated while Aston Villa were promoted.[5]

TeamLocationGroundCapacity2019–20 season
ArsenalBorehamwoodMeadow Park4,5023rd
Aston VillaWalsallBescot Stadium11,000WC, 1st
Birmingham CitySolihullDamson Park3,05011th
Brighton & Hove AlbionCrawleyBroadfield Stadium6,1349th
Bristol CityBathTwerton Park3,52810th
ChelseaKingston upon ThamesKingsmeadow4,8501st
EvertonLiverpoolWalton Hall Park2,2006th
Manchester CityManchesterAcademy Stadium7,0002nd
Manchester United LeighLeigh Sports Village12,0004th
ReadingReadingMadejski Stadium24,1615th
Tottenham HotspurCanons ParkThe Hive Stadium6,5007th
West Ham UnitedDagenhamVictoria Road6,0788th

Stadium changes

Four teams changed home ground prior to the start of the season: Reading relocated from Adams Park in High Wycombe to the Madejski Stadium, home of the team's male affiliate since it was constructed in 1998.[6] Newly-promoted Aston Villa signed a two-year deal with Walsall to play their home games at Bescot Stadium, moving from the Trevor Brown Memorial Ground[7] and West Ham United signed a one-year deal with Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. to play at Victoria Road for the season having previously played at the club's Rush Green training ground stadium.[8] In a bid to enable increased attendances amid COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing measures, Bristol City announced they were moving from the 1,500 capacity Stoke Gifford Stadium in Filton which had been purpose-built by the club in 2011 ahead of the first WSL season, to Twerton Park, an 3,528 capacity stadium home to Bath City.[9][10]

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Arsenal Australia Joe Montemurro Scotland Kim Little Adidas Fly Emirates
Aston Villa England Marcus Bignot (interim) Germany Marisa Ewers Kappa Cazoo
Birmingham City England Carla Ward Scotland Christie Murray Nike Biffa
Brighton & Hove Albion England Hope Powell England Danielle Buet Nike American Express
Bristol City England Matt Beard (maternity cover) England Jasmine Matthews Hummel Yeo Valley
Chelsea England Emma Hayes Sweden Magdalena Eriksson Nike Three
Everton Scotland Willie Kirk Scotland Lucy Graham Hummel MegaFon
Manchester City Wales Gareth Taylor England Steph Houghton Puma Etihad Airways
Manchester United England Casey Stoney England Katie Zelem Adidas Chevrolet
Reading England Kelly Chambers Wales Natasha Harding Macron YLD
Tottenham Hotspur England Rehanne Skinner Wales Josie Green Nike AIA
West Ham United New Zealand Olli Harder England Gilly Flaherty Umbro Betway

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Manchester City Republic of Ireland Alan Mahon (interim) End of interim period 2 February 2020 Pre-season Wales Gareth Taylor 28 May 2020[11]
Birmingham City England Charlie Baxter (interim) End of interim period 3 March 2020 England Carla Ward 13 August 2020[12]
West Ham United England Matt Beard Mutual consent[13] 19 November 2020 9th England Billy Stewart (interim) 19 November 2020
Tottenham Hotspur England Karen Hills
Spain Juan Carlos Amorós		 Sacked[14] 19 November 2020 11th England Rehanne Skinner 19 November 2020[15]
West Ham United England Billy Stewart (interim) End of interim period 23 December 2020 10th New Zealand Olli Harder 23 December 2020[16]
Bristol City Australia Tanya Oxtoby Maternity leave 15 January 2021 12th England Matt Beard (interim) 15 January 2021[17]
Aston Villa England Gemma Davies Retained head coach role 25 January 2021 11th England Marcus Bignot (interim) 25 January 2021[18]

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Chelsea (C) 22 18 3 1 69 10 +59 57 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Manchester City 22 17 4 1 65 13 +52 55 Qualification for the Champions League second round
3 Arsenal 22 15 3 4 63 15 +48 48 Qualification for the Champions League first round
4 Manchester United 22 15 2 5 44 20 +24 47
5 Everton 22 9 5 8 39 30 +9 32
6 Brighton & Hove Albion 22 8 3 11 21 41 −20 27
7 Reading 22 5 9 8 25 41 −16 24
8 Tottenham Hotspur 22 5 5 12 18 41 −23 20
9 West Ham United 22 3 6 13 21 39 −18 15
10 Aston Villa 22 3 6 13 15 47 −32 15
11 Birmingham City 22 3 6 13 15 44 −29 14[lower-alpha 1]
12 Bristol City (R) 22 2 6 14 18 72 −54 12 Relegation to the Championship
Source: FA WSL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ↑ On 7 May 2021, Birmingham City were deducted one point for fielding an ineligible player in a draw against Reading on 25 April 2021.[19]

Results

Home \ Away ARS ASV BIR BHA BRI CHE EVE MCI MNU REA TOT WHU
Arsenal — 0–0 3–0 2–0 3–1 1–1 4–0 1–2 2–0 6–1 6–1 2–0
Aston Villa 0–4 — 0–1 0–2 2–2 0–4 0–6 0–2 0–2 2–2 1–0 0–0
Birmingham City 0–4 1–1 — 0–0 1–1 0–1 0–4 0–4 2–5 1–1 0–1 1–2
Brighton & Hove Albion 0–5 0–2 2–0 — 3–1 0–1 0–5 1–7 1–0 1–3 2–0 1–0
Bristol City 0–4 0–4 0–4 3–0 — 0–5 0–4 0–3 0–1 3–2 2–2 0–4
Chelsea 3–0 2–0 6–0 1–2 9–0 — 4–0 3–1 2–1 5–0 4–0 3–2
Everton 1–2 3–1 1–1 2–2 4–0 0–3 — 0–3 0–2 1–1 1–0 3–1
Manchester City 2–1 7–0 4–0 0–0 8–1 2–2 1–0 — 3–0 1–0 4–1 4–0
Manchester United 1–0 3–0 2–0 3–0 6–1 1–1 2–0 2–2 — 0–2 4–1 2–0
Reading 1–1 3–1 0–1 3–2 1–1 0–5 1–1 1–1 1–2 — 0–0 0–5
Tottenham Hotspur 0–3 3–1 W.O.[lower-alpha 1] 3–1 1–1 0–2 2–3 0–3 0–1 1–1 — 1–1
West Ham United 1–9 0–0 2–2 0–1 1–1 0–2 0–0 0–1 2–4 0–1 0–1 —
Source: The FA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
  1. ↑ Independent tribunal awarded three points to Tottenham after Birmingham failed to fulfil the fixture due to a player shortage. No scoreline was specified.

Season statistics

Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals[20]
1 Australia Sam Kerr Chelsea 21
2 Netherlands Vivianne Miedema Arsenal 18
3 England Fran Kirby Chelsea 16
4 Australia Caitlin Foord Arsenal 10
England Chloe Kelly Manchester City
England Ellen White Manchester City
7 Denmark Pernille Harder Chelsea 9
England Ella Toone Manchester United
9 Scotland Caroline Weir Manchester City 8
Netherlands Inessa Kaagman Brighton & Hove Albion

Top assists

RankPlayerClubAssists[21]
1 England Chloe Kelly Manchester City 11
England Fran Kirby Chelsea
Republic of Ireland Katie McCabe Arsenal
4 England Bethany England Chelsea 9
England Beth Mead Arsenal
6 England Lauren Hemp Manchester City 8
7 Australia Sam Kerr Chelsea 7
8 England Izzy Christiansen Everton 6
Scotland Erin Cuthbert Chelsea
10 England Lucy Bronze Manchester City 5
Australia Caitlin Foord Arsenal
Wales Hayley Ladd Manchester United
Netherlands Vivianne Miedema Arsenal
England Ella Toone Manchester United
England Ellen White Manchester City

Clean sheets

Rank Player Club Clean
sheets[22]
1 Germany Ann-Katrin Berger Chelsea 12
2 England Ellie Roebuck Manchester City 11
3 England Mary Earps Manchester United 10
4 Australia Lydia Williams Arsenal 7
5 England Sandy MacIver Everton 6
England Megan Walsh Brighton & Hove Albion
Germany Lisa Weiß Aston Villa
8 England Hannah Hampton Birmingham City 4
Austria Manuela Zinsberger Arsenal
10 Republic of Ireland Courtney Brosnan West Ham United 3
Republic of Ireland Grace Moloney Reading

Awards

Monthly awards

Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month Ref.
Manager Club Player Club
September England Hope Powell Brighton & Hove Albion Netherlands Jill Roord Arsenal [23]
October England Carla Ward Birmingham City Netherlands Vivianne Miedema Arsenal [24]
November England Casey Stoney Manchester United United States Tobin Heath Manchester United [25]
December England Casey Stoney Manchester United England Leah Galton Manchester United [26]
January England Emma Hayes Chelsea England Fran Kirby Chelsea [27]
February England Hope Powell Brighton & Hove Albion England Lucy Bronze Manchester City [28]
March Australia Joe Montemurro Arsenal England Lotte Wubben-Moy Arsenal [29]
April Australia Joe Montemurro Arsenal Australia Sam Kerr Chelsea [30][31]

Annual awards

Award Winner Club
Barclays FA WSL Player of the Season England Fran Kirby[32] Chelsea
Barclays FA WSL Manager of the Season England Emma Hayes[32] Chelsea
PFA Players' Player of the Year England Fran Kirby[33] Chelsea
PFA Young Player of the Year England Lauren Hemp[33] Manchester City
FWA Footballer of the Year England Fran Kirby[34] Chelsea
PFA Team of the Year[35]
Goalkeeper Germany Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea)
Defenders Norway Maren Mjelde (Chelsea) England Leah Williamson (Arsenal) Sweden Magdalena Eriksson (Chelsea) Republic of Ireland Katie McCabe (Arsenal)
Midfielders Scotland Caroline Weir (Manchester City) United States Sam Mewis (Manchester City)
Forwards England Chloe Kelly (Manchester City) England Fran Kirby (Chelsea) England Lauren Hemp (Manchester City) Australia Sam Kerr (Chelsea)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The History of Women's Football". Football Association. The Football Association. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  2. ↑ "Women's Super League to get extra Champions League spot from 2021". The Guardian. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  3. ↑ "Statement: FA Barclays WSL and Women's Championship season ended". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
  4. ↑ "Chelsea handed Women's Super League title on points-per-game basis". The Guardian. 5 June 2020.
  5. ↑ Wrack, Suzanne (5 June 2020). "Chelsea handed Women's Super League title on points-per-game basis". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  6. ↑ "Reading Women: Top-flight side to move to Madejski Stadium". BBC Sport. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  7. ↑ "Villa Women to play at Walsall FC from 2020/21 season". Aston Villa. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  8. ↑ "West Ham United women's team reveal new matchday home". www.whufc.com. West Ham United. 29 July 2020.
  9. ↑ Leighton, Tony (25 April 2010). "Bristol Academy builds Britain's first women's stadium". The Guardian.
  10. ↑ "New home for City Women". Bristol City. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  11. ↑ "Manchester City Women appoint Gareth Taylor as manager". The Guardian. 28 May 2020.
  12. ↑ "Carla Ward appointed Women's Head Coach". Birmingham City Football Club. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  13. ↑ Wrack, Suzanne (19 November 2020). "West Ham undertake WSL reshuffle as manager Matt Beard leaves". The Guardian.
  14. ↑ "Karen Hills and Juan Amoros leave Club". Tottenham Hotspur.
  15. ↑ "Rehanne Skinner appointed new Tottenham Hotspur Women Head Coach". Tottenham Hotspur.
  16. ↑ "WSL side West Ham appoint Harder as boss". BBC Sport.
  17. ↑ "Beard in temporary charge as Oxtoby cover". Bristol City.
  18. ↑ "Marcus Bignot joins Aston Villa Women as Interim Manager". Aston Villa Football Club.
  19. ↑ "Blues Women deducted one point". Birmingham City Football Club. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  20. ↑ "The FA Women's Super League Top Scorers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  21. ↑ "The FA Women's Super League Top Scorers - Top Assists". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  22. ↑ "Women's Super League Goalkeeper Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  23. ↑ Stenning, Adam (9 October 2020). "Albion head coach wins manager of the month award". The Argus.
  24. ↑ Ambrose, Lewis (9 November 2020). "FA WSL reveal Player and Manager of the Month for October". OneFootball.
  25. ↑ Carney, Sam (11 December 2020). "Casey Stoney and Tobin Heath win WSL awards for November". www.manutd.com. Manchester United.
  26. ↑ Dunn, Carrie (15 January 2021). "Galton and Stoney pick up December WSL awards". Manchester Evening News.
  27. ↑ "Hayes and Kirby win manager and player of the month awards". Chelsea Football Club. 17 February 2021.
  28. ↑ Spencer, Jamie (12 March 2021). "Lucy Bronze & Hope Powell win WSL monthly awards for February". 90min.com.
  29. ↑ Ouzia, Malik (16 April 2021). "Arsenal pair Montemurro and Wubben-Moy sweep WSL March awards". London Evening Standard.
  30. ↑ Bunting, Josh (9 May 2021). "Arsenal boss Montemurro picks up second straight manager of the month award". Islington Gazette.
  31. ↑ "Kerr scoops April's Player of the Month award". Chelsea FC.
  32. 1 2 Ouzia, Malik (24 May 2021). "Chelsea star Kirby named WSL Player of the Season". www.standard.co.uk.
  33. 1 2 "Chelsea star Kirby wins women's PFA Players' Player of the Year as Hemp wins Young Player of the Year award". www.goal.com.
  34. ↑ "Kirby named FWA women's player of year". BBC Sport.
  35. ↑ "Chelsea players, including Fran Kirby and Sam Kerr, dominate PFA WSL Team of the Year". Sky Sports.
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