# 2021–22 FA WSL

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

## 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.
| 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. 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.

### 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 |
| 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.

### 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 | 10 May 2021 | End of season (10th) | Carla Ward | 20 May 2021 |
| Birmingham City | Carla Ward | Resigned | 16 May 2021 | End of season (11th) | Scott Booth | 30 June 2021 |
| Arsenal | Joe Montemurro | Resigned | 16 May 2021 | End of season (3rd) | Jonas Eidevall | 28 June 2021 |
| Manchester United | Casey Stoney | Resigned | 16 May 2021 | End of season (4th) | Marc Skinner | 29 July 2021 |
| Everton | Willie Kirk | Sacked | 16 October 2021 | 8th | Jean-Luc Vasseur | 29 October 2021 |
| Birmingham City | Scott Booth | Sacked | 18 November 2021 | 11th | Tony Elliott (interim) | 18 November 2021 |
| Birmingham City | Tony Elliott (interim) | End of interim period | 21 November 2021 | 11th | Darren Carter | 21 November 2021 |
| Leicester City | Jonathan Morgan | Sacked | 25 November 2021 | 12th | Emile Heskey (interim) | 25 November 2021 |
| Leicester City | Emile Heskey (interim) | End of interim period | 6 December 2021 | 12th | Lydia Bedford | 6 December 2021 |
| Everton | Jean-Luc Vasseur | Sacked | 2 February 2022 | 10th | Chris Roberts (interim) | 2 February 2022 |
* ↑ Carter was initially appointed as interim manager, but the move was made permanent on 30 May 2022.

## 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 |

## 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 | — |

### 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 ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Chelsea | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Arsenal | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Manchester City | 1 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Manchester United | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| West Ham United | 10 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Reading | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Aston Villa | 5 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Everton | 12 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Leicester City | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Birmingham City | 9 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
* Leader and Champions League group stage
* Champions League second round
* Champions League first round
* Relegation to Championship

### Results by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Arsenal | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | W | L | D | W | D | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| Aston Villa | W | D | W | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | W | L | W | L | L | L | D | W | D | L | L |
| Birmingham City | L | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | D | W | L | L | W |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | W | W | L | L | W | W | W | L | L | L | L | D | L | L | W | W | L | W | L | L | L | D |
| Chelsea | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | D | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| Everton | L | L | W | W | L | L | D | W | D | L | L | L | L | W | W | L | L | L | D | L | D | D |
| Leicester City | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | L | W | L | W | W | L | L | L | L | L | D | L |
| Manchester City | W | L | L | L | D | W | L | W | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| Manchester United | W | W | L | W | D | D | D | L | W | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | D | W | W | D | W | L |
| Reading | L | L | L | L | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | L | L | D | L | L | D | L | L | D | L |
| Tottenham Hotspur | W | W | W | W | L | D | D | L | W | W | D | L | W | W | D | L | L | L | L | D | L | W |
| West Ham United | L | D | W | W | D | L | D | W | D | D | W | L | W | L | L | W | D | W | L | W | L | L |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 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 |
| 5 | Khadija Shaw | Manchester City | 9 |
| 7 | Bethany England | Chelsea | 8 |
| 7 | Leah Galton | Manchester United | 8 |
| 7 | Georgia Stanway | Manchester City | 8 |
| 10 | Ella Toone | Manchester United | 7 |
| 10 | Guro Reiten | Chelsea | 7 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 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 |
| 5 | Zećira Mušović | Chelsea | 7 |
| 7 | Megan Walsh | Brighton & Hove Albion | 6 |
| 8 | Rebecca Spencer | Tottenham Hotspur | 5 |
| 9 | Hannah Hampton | Aston Villa | 4 |
| 9 | Demi Lambourne | Leicester City | 4 |
| 9 | Sandy MacIver | Everton | 4 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref. |
| Sam Kerr | Chelsea | Birmingham City | 5–0 (H) | 21 November 2021 | |
| 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 | |
| Club | Tottenham Hotspur | 39 | West Ham United | 2 | |

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Goal of the Month | Goal of the Month | Ref. |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | Ref. |
| September | Jonas Eidevall | Arsenal | Beth Mead | Arsenal | Pernille Harder (vs Manchester United) | Chelsea | |
| October | Jonas Eidevall | Arsenal | Katie McCabe | Arsenal | Katie McCabe (vs Aston Villa) | Arsenal | |
| November | Kelly Chambers | Reading | Jessie Fleming | Chelsea | Alessia Russo (vs Tottenham Hotspur) | Manchester United | |
| December | Marc Skinner | Manchester United | Ella Toone | Manchester United | Georgia Stanway (vs Birmingham City) | Manchester City | |
| January | Marc Skinner | Manchester United | Leah Galton | Manchester United | Natasha Dowie (vs Leicester City) | Reading | |
| February | Lydia Bedford | Leicester City | Ashleigh Neville | Tottenham Hotspur | Caroline Weir (vs Manchester United) | Manchester City | |
| March | Emma Hayes | Chelsea | Alessia Russo | Manchester United | Katie Zelem (vs Leicester City) | Manchester United | |
| April | Darren Carter | Birmingham City | Sam Kerr | Chelsea | Yui Hasegawa (vs Reading) | West Ham United | |

### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Barclays FA WSL Player of the Season | Sam Kerr | Chelsea |
| Barclays FA WSL Manager of the Season | Emma Hayes | Chelsea |
| PFA Players' Player of the Year | Sam Kerr | Chelsea |
| PFA Young Player of the Year | Lauren Hemp | Manchester City |
| FWA Footballer of the Year | Sam Kerr | Chelsea |
PFA Team of the Year :
| Goalkeeper | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) |
| Defenders | Ona Batlle (Manchester United) | Ona Batlle (Manchester United) | Ona Batlle (Manchester United) | Millie Bright (Chelsea) | Millie Bright (Chelsea) | Millie Bright (Chelsea) | Leah Williamson (Arsenal) | Leah Williamson (Arsenal) | Leah Williamson (Arsenal) | Alex Greenwood (Manchester City) | Alex Greenwood (Manchester City) | Alex Greenwood (Manchester City) |
| Midfielders | Guro Reiten (Chelsea) | Guro Reiten (Chelsea) | Guro Reiten (Chelsea) | Guro Reiten (Chelsea) | Caroline Weir (Manchester City) | Caroline Weir (Manchester City) | Caroline Weir (Manchester City) | Caroline Weir (Manchester City) | Kim Little (Arsenal) | Kim Little (Arsenal) | Kim Little (Arsenal) | Kim Little (Arsenal) |
| Forwards | Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal) | Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal) | Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal) | Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal) | Sam Kerr (Chelsea) | Sam Kerr (Chelsea) | Sam Kerr (Chelsea) | Sam Kerr (Chelsea) | Lauren Hemp (Manchester City) | Lauren Hemp (Manchester City) | Lauren Hemp (Manchester City) | Lauren Hemp (Manchester City) |