The 2020–21 A-League was the 44th season of national level soccer in Australia, and the 16th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. The season was started on 28 December 2020 and concluded with the Grand Final on 27 June 2021.[3] The start of the season was later than previous seasons as a result of both the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and New Zealand, and as part of a gradual shift to move the competition from summer to winter.[4] Wellington Phoenix played the majority of their home matches at Wollongong Showground in Wollongong due to international travel restrictions.[5]
Season | 2020–21 |
---|---|
Dates | 28 December 2020 – 27 June 2021 |
Champions | Melbourne City (1st title) |
Premiers | Melbourne City (1st title) |
Champions League | Melbourne City Sydney FC |
Matches played | 161 |
Goals scored | 471 (2.93 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Jamie Maclaren (25 goals) |
Biggest home win | Melbourne City 7–0 Melbourne Victory (17 April 2021) |
Biggest away win | Melbourne Victory 0–6 Melbourne City (6 March 2021) |
Highest scoring | Western United 5–4 Perth Glory (23 January 2021) Melbourne Victory 5–4 WSW (23 April 2021) |
Longest winning run | 6 matches Adelaide United Melbourne City |
Longest unbeaten run | 11 matches Wellington Phoenix |
Longest winless run | 14 matches Newcastle Jets |
Longest losing run | 8 matches Western United |
Highest attendance | 24,105[1] WEL 3–0 WUN (22 May 2021) |
Lowest attendance | 550 WUN 1–2 MAC (31 May 2021) [2] |
Total attendance | 879,039[1] |
Average attendance | 5,745[1] ( 3,683) |
← 2019–20 2021–22 →
(Note: Longest run statistics do not include finals) |
Sydney FC were the defending champions and premiers, having won their record fifth and fourth titles respectively the previous season. Melbourne City won their first premiership and championship title, leaving Sydney FC in second on both.
Clubs
There were 12 clubs participating in this season. Macarthur FC made their A-League debut this season.[6]
Club | City | Home stadium(s) | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|
Adelaide United | Adelaide | Coopers Stadium | 16,500 |
Brisbane Roar | Brisbane | Moreton Daily Stadium | 11,500 |
Central Coast Mariners | Gosford | Central Coast Stadium | 20,059 |
Macarthur FC | Sydney | Campbelltown Stadium | 20,000 |
Melbourne City | Melbourne | AAMI Park | 30,050 |
Melbourne Victory | Melbourne | Marvel Stadium | 56,347 |
AAMI Park | 30,050 | ||
Newcastle Jets | Newcastle | McDonald Jones Stadium | 33,000 |
Coffs Harbour | C.ex Coffs International Stadium | 20,000 | |
Perth Glory | Perth | HBF Park | 20,500 |
Sydney FC | Sydney | Stadium Australia | 83,500 |
Sydney Cricket Ground | 48,601 | ||
Netstrata Jubilee Stadium | 20,500 | ||
Leichhardt Oval | 20,000 | ||
Wellington Phoenix | Auckland | Eden Park | 50,000 |
Wellington | Sky Stadium | 34,500 | |
Newcastle | McDonald Jones Stadium | 33,000 | |
Wollongong | WIN Stadium | 23,000 | |
Western Sydney Wanderers | Sydney | Bankwest Stadium | 30,000 |
Western United | Geelong | GMHBA Stadium | 26,000[lower-alpha 1] |
Melbourne | AAMI Park | 30,050 | |
Launceston | UTAS Stadium | 19,000 | |
Ballarat | Mars Stadium | 11,000 |
Personnel and kits
Managerial changes
Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position on table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Macarthur FC | Inaugural manager | Pre-season | Ante Milicic[43] | 15 May 2019 | ||
Melbourne Victory | Grant Brebner (caretaker) | Promoted to full time | 24 August 2020 | Grant Brebner[44] | 24 August 2020 | |
Perth Glory | Tony Popovic | Signed by Xanthi[45] | 27 August 2020 | Hayden Foxe (caretaker)[46] | 2 September 2020 | |
Melbourne City | Erick Mombaerts | Resigned | 3 September 2020 | Patrick Kisnorbo[47] | 3 September 2020 | |
Adelaide United | Carl Veart (caretaker) | Promoted to full time | 18 September 2020 | Carl Veart[48] | 18 September 2020 | |
Perth Glory | Hayden Foxe (caretaker) | End of contract | 18 September 2020 | Richard Garcia[49] | 18 September 2020 | |
Western Sydney Wanderers | Jean-Paul de Marigny | Sacked[50] | 12 October 2020 | Carl Robinson[51] | 15 October 2020 | |
Newcastle Jets | Carl Robinson | Signed by Western Sydney Wanderers[52] | 15 October 2020 | Craig Deans[lower-alpha 2][54] | 16 October 2020 | |
Melbourne Victory | Grant Brebner | Sacked[55] | 17 April 2021 | 12th | Steve Kean (caretaker)[56] | 19 April 2021 |
- Deans was initially appointed as interim coach, but the move was made permanent on 10 February 2021.[53]
Foreign players
The following do not fill a Visa position:
1Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian citizenship (or New Zealand citizenship, in the case of Wellington Phoenix);[57]
2Australian citizens (or New Zealand citizens, in the case of Wellington Phoenix) who have chosen to represent another national team;
3Injury replacement players, or National team replacement players;
4Guest players (eligible to play a maximum of fourteen games)
Salary cap exemptions and captains
Transfers
Regular season
The regular season commenced on 28 December 2020 and ended on 10 June 2021.
League table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Melbourne City (C) | 26 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 57 | 32 | +25 | 49 | Qualification for 2022 AFC Champions League group stage and finals series[lower-alpha 1] |
2 | Sydney FC | 26 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 39 | 23 | +16 | 47 | Qualification for 2022 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs and finals series[lower-alpha 1] |
3 | Central Coast Mariners | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 35 | 31 | +4 | 42 | Qualification for finals series[lower-alpha 1] |
4 | Brisbane Roar | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 36 | 28 | +8 | 40 | |
5 | Adelaide United | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 39 | 41 | −2 | 39 | |
6 | Macarthur FC | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 33 | 36 | −3 | 39 | |
7 | Wellington Phoenix[lower-alpha 2] | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 44 | 34 | +10 | 38 | |
8 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 45 | 43 | +2 | 35 | |
9 | Perth Glory | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 34 | Qualification for 2021 FFA Cup play-offs[lower-alpha 3] |
10 | Western United | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 30 | 47 | −17 | 28 | |
11 | Newcastle Jets | 26 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 24 | 38 | −14 | 21 | |
12 | Melbourne Victory | 26 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 31 | 60 | −29 | 19 | Qualification for 2022 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs and 2021 FFA Cup play-offs[lower-alpha 4] |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Least red cards; 5) Least yellow cards; 6) Toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
(C) Champions
Notes:
- The top two teams entered the finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth entered the finals series at the elimination-finals.
- Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are based in New Zealand, which is under the Oceania Football Confederation.
- The top 8 teams qualified for the round of 32, while the bottom four teams participated in a playoff round.[84]
- Qualified as the 2021 FFA Cup winners.
Fixtures and results
Home \ Away | ADE | BRI | CCM | MAC | MCY | MVC | NEW | PER | SYD | WEL | WSW | WUN | ADE | BRI | CCM | MAC | MCY | MVC | NEW | PER | SYD | WEL | WSW | WUN |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adelaide United | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 2–2 | |||||||||||
Brisbane Roar | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | |||||||||||
Central Coast Mariners | 2–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | |||||||||||
Macarthur FC | 4–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | |||||||||||
Melbourne City | 4–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 7–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | |||||||||||
Melbourne Victory | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–6 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 5–4 | 3–4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | |||||||||||
Newcastle Jets | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | |||||||||||
Perth Glory | 5–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |||||||||||
Sydney FC | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |||||||||||
Wellington Phoenix | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | |||||||||||
Western Sydney Wanderers | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 4–3 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | |||||||||||
Western United | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 5–4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–6 |
Finals series
Elimination-finals | Semi-finals | Grand Final | ||||||||
20 June – Sydney | ||||||||||
Melbourne City | 2 | |||||||||
12 June – Gosford | ||||||||||
Macarthur FC | 0 | |||||||||
Central Coast Mariners | 0 | |||||||||
27 June – Melbourne | ||||||||||
Macarthur FC | 2 | |||||||||
Melbourne City | 3 | |||||||||
Sydney FC | 1 | |||||||||
19 June – Sydney | ||||||||||
Sydney FC | 2 | |||||||||
13 June – Brisbane | ||||||||||
Adelaide United | 1 | |||||||||
Brisbane Roar | 1 | |||||||||
Adelaide United | 2 | |||||||||
Elimination-finals
12 June 2021 | Central Coast Mariners | 0–2 (a.e.t.) | Macarthur FC | Gosford |
19:05 AEST | Report | Stadium: Central Coast Stadium Attendance: 11,565 Referee: Shaun Evans |
13 June 2021 | Brisbane Roar | 1–2 | Adelaide United | Brisbane |
15:05 AEST | Parsons 56' | Report | Juric 15', 19' | Stadium: Moreton Daily Stadium Attendance: 7,782 Referee: Alex King |
Semi-finals
19 June 2021 | Sydney FC | 2–1 | Adelaide United | Sydney |
19:05 AEST | Report | Juande 64' | Stadium: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium Attendance: 7,500 Referee: Alireza Faghani |
20 June 2021 | Melbourne City | 2–0 | Macarthur FC | Sydney |
16:05 AEST |
|
Report | Stadium: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium Attendance: 2,283 Referee: Daniel Elder |
Grand Final
Statistics
Top scorers
Including Finals matches[85]
Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jamie Maclaren | Melbourne City | 25 |
2 | Matt Derbyshire | Macarthur FC | 14 |
3 | Bruno Fornaroli | Perth Glory | 13 |
4 | Bobô | Sydney FC | 12 |
5 | Tomer Hemed | Wellington Phoenix | 11 |
6 | Matt Simon | Central Coast Mariners | 10 |
7 | Kosta Barbarouses | Sydney FC | 9 |
Riku Danzaki | Brisbane Roar | ||
Tomi Juric | Adelaide United | ||
Bruce Kamau | Western Sydney Wanderers |
Hat-tricks
Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Matt Derbyshire | Macarthur FC | Adelaide United | 4–0 (H) | 12 February 2021 | [86] |
Tomi Juric | Adelaide United | Central Coast Mariners | 3–2 (H) | 19 February 2021 | [87] |
Jamie Maclaren5 | Melbourne City | Melbourne Victory | 7–0 (H) | 17 April 2021 | [88] |
Andy Keogh4 | Perth Glory | Western Sydney Wanderers | 5–1 (H) | 16 May 2021 | [89] |
Key | |
---|---|
4 | Player scored four goals |
5 | Player scored five goals |
(H) | Home team |
Awards
Annual awards
The following end of the season awards were announced at the 2020–21 Dolan Warren Awards night on 23 June 2021.[90]
- Johnny Warren Medal – Ulises Dávila, Wellington Phoenix & Miloš Ninković, Sydney FC
- NAB Young Footballer of the Year – Joel King, Sydney FC
- Nike Golden Boot Award – Jamie Maclaren, Melbourne City (25 goals)
- Goalkeeper of the Year – Mark Birighitti, Central Coast Mariners & Andrew Redmayne, Sydney FC
- Coach of the Year – Patrick Kisnorbo, Melbourne City
- Fair Play Award – Brisbane Roar
- Referee of the Year – Chris Beath
- Goal of the Year – Andy Keogh, Perth Glory (Perth Glory v Western Sydney Wanderers, 16 May 2021)
Team of the season
Team of the season | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Goalkeeper | Adam Federici (Macarthur FC) | |||||||
Defenders | Rhyan Grant (Sydney FC) | Ruon Tongyik (Central Coast Mariners) | Curtis Good (Melbourne City) | Scott Jamieson (Melbourne City) | ||||
Midfielders | Oliver Bozanic (Central Coast Mariners) | Ulises Dávila (Wellington Phoenix) | Connor Metcalfe (Melbourne City) | |||||
Forwards | Matt Derbyshire (Macarthur FC) | Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City) | Craig Noone (Melbourne City) | |||||
Substitutes | Mark Birighitti (Central Coast Mariners) | Ryan Strain (Adelaide United) | Luke Brattan (Sydney FC) | Matt Simon (Central Coast Mariners) | Ryan McGowan (Sydney FC) | Miloš Ninković (Sydney FC) | Jay O'Shea (Brisbane Roar) |
See also
- 2020–21 Adelaide United FC season
- 2020–21 Brisbane Roar FC season
- 2020–21 Central Coast Mariners FC season
- 2020–21 Macarthur FC season
- 2020–21 Melbourne City FC season
- 2020–21 Melbourne Victory FC season
- 2020–21 Newcastle Jets FC season
- 2020–21 Perth Glory FC season
- 2020–21 Sydney FC season
- 2020–21 Wellington Phoenix FC season
- 2020–21 Western Sydney Wanderers FC season
- 2020–21 Western United FC season
References
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