2021–22 Manchester United W.F.C. season

The 2021–22 season was Manchester United Women's fourth season since they were founded and their third in the FA Women's Super League, the professional top-flight women's league in England. The club also competed in the FA Cup and League Cup.

Manchester United Women

2021–22 season
Co-chairmen	Joel and Avram Glazer
Head coach	Marc Skinner
Stadium	Leigh Sports Village
FA WSL	4th
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Semi-finals
Top goalscorer	League: Alessia Russo (9 goals) All: Alessia Russo (11 goals)
Highest home attendance	20,241 (v. Everton, 27 March 2022)
Lowest home attendance	1,001 (v. Aston Villa, 19 December 2021)
Average home league attendance	3,567
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2020–21 2022–23 →
All statistics correct as of 8 May 2022.

Following the resignation of Casey Stoney at the end of the previous season,^[1] Marc Skinner was announced as the new Manchester United head coach on 29 July 2021, having stood down from his head coaching position at Orlando Pride in order to take the job.^[2]

Having played at Old Trafford behind closed doors during the previous season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team played at Old Trafford in front of fans for the first time on 27 March 2022. They beat Everton 3–1 with a new club record 20,241 in attendance.^[3]

Pre-season

Manchester United scheduled four preseason friendlies, with all but the Rangers game played behind closed doors. The matches against Championship side Liverpool and WSL side Aston Villa were both played at Carrington with the former broadcast live on MUTV. A week-long training camp in Scotland included a friendly against Rangers of the SWPL before a final friendly against WSL side Brighton & Hove Albion held on neutral ground at Loughborough University.^[4][5]

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers
8 August 2021	Liverpool	H	2–2	Galton 25', Hanson 26'
14 August 2021	Aston Villa	H	2–0	Thomas 4', Hanson 17'
19 August 2021	Rangers	A	5–0	Zelem (2) 8', 51', Staniforth 33', Hanson 74', Galton 77'
28 August 2021	Brighton & Hove Albion	N	1–1	Zelem

FA Women's Super League

Main article: 2021–22 FA WSL

Matches

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance	League position
3 September 2021	Reading	H	2–0	Hanson 39', Batlle 54'	2,111	1st
12 September 2021	Leicester City	A	3–1	Toone 36', Thorisdottir 47', Thomas 71'	4,473	3rd
26 September 2021	Chelsea	H	1–6	Russo 48'	2,197	6th
3 October 2021	Birmingham City	A	2–0	Galton 27', Toone 80'	650	4th
9 October 2021	Manchester City	H	2–2	Staniforth 72', Russo 75'	3,797	3rd
7 November 2021	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1–1	Russo 45+2'	1,308	5th
14 November 2021	Everton	A	1–1	Toone 10'	840	5th
21 November 2021	Arsenal	H	0–2		2,186	6th
12 December 2021	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	2–0	Ladd 45+1', Bøe Risa 69'	1,776	5th
19 December 2021	Aston Villa	H	5–0	Toone (2) 8', 79' Zelem 13' (pen.), Staniforth 50', Thomas 73'	1,001	4th
9 January 2022	West Ham United	A	Postponed due to COVID-19 outbreak at West Ham[6]
15 January 2022	Birmingham City	H	5–0	Zelem 12', Galton (2) 16', 18', Ramsey 45' (o.g.), Russo 71'	1,015	3rd
23 January 2022	Tottenham Hotspur	H	3–0	Bøe Risa 38', Ladd 42', Galton 62'	1,519	2nd
5 February 2022	Arsenal	A	1–1	Russo 10'	2,385	3rd
13 February 2022	Manchester City	A	0–1		5,317	4th
5 March 2022	Leicester City	H	4–0	Thomas 17', Russo 30', Zelem (2) 59', 63'	1,103	3rd
12 March 2022	Reading	A	3–1	Galton (2) 5', 25', Russo 43'	1,371	3rd
16 March 2022	West Ham United	A	1–1	Toone 54'	1,425	3rd
27 March 2022	Everton	H	3–1	Russo (2) 35', 84', Zelem 54' (pen.)	20,241	3rd
3 April 2022	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	1–0	Galton 68'	1,524	3rd
24 April 2022	Aston Villa	A	0–0		941	3rd
1 May 2022	West Ham United	H	3–0	Thomas 12', Fisk 20' (o.g.), Galton 49'	2,546	3rd
8 May 2022	Chelsea	A	2–4	Thomas 13', Toone 25'	4,378	4th

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
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

Source: FA WSL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored.

Women's FA Cup

Main article: 2021–22 Women's FA Cup

As a member of the first tier, United entered the FA Cup in the fourth round proper. They were drawn away to third-division Bridgwater United, winning 2–0 in front of a sellout club-record crowd of 2,500.^[7] For the fifth round proper, United were drawn against Manchester City for the fifth time in the last six cup competitions. United had most recently beaten City in their last cup meeting, 2–1 in this season's League Cup.

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
30 January 2022	Round 4	Bridgwater United	A	2–0	Buxton 17' (o.g.), Toone 81'	2,500
27 February 2022	Round 5	Manchester City	H	1–4	Zelem 13'	2,335

FA Women's League Cup

Main article: 2021–22 FA Women's League Cup

Group stage

As a team not qualified for the group stage of the Champions League, Manchester United entered the League Cup at the group stage. They were drawn into Group B, one of two Northern section groups, alongside fellow WSL clubs Everton and Leicester City, and Championship side Durham.^[8] Because Manchester City were knocked out of the Champions League during the qualifying rounds, they belatedly entered the League Cup group stage after the draw was made instead of receiving a bye and were placed alongside United in Group B as the only remaining Northern group with four teams.

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Group position
14 October 2021	Durham	A	2–2 (5–3 p)	Fuso 35', Toone 73'	1,468	2nd
17 November 2021	Manchester City	H	2–1	Fuso 30', Batlle 82'	2,369	2nd
5 December 2021	Leicester City	H	2–2 (3–4 p)	Russo 47', Zelem 80'	839	2nd
15 December 2021	Everton	A	2–0	D. Turner 20' (o.g.), Thomas 23'	672	2nd

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	WPEN	LPEN	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Manchester City	4	3	0	0	1	14	3	+11	9	Advances to knock-out stage
2	Manchester United	4	2	1	1	0	8	5	+3	9	Possible knock-out stage based on ranking
3	Everton	4	2	0	0	2	5	8	−3	6
4	Leicester City	4	1	1	0	2	5	11	−6	5
5	Durham	4	0	0	1	3	3	8	−5	1

Source: thefa.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Number of wins; 5) Head-to-head record

Ranking of second-placed teams

Pos	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	WPEN	LPEN	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Qualification
1	B	Manchester United	4	2	1	1	0	8	5	+3	9	2.25	Advances to knock-out stage
2	C	Charlton Athletic	3	2	0	0	1	8	2	+6	6	2.00
3	A	Sunderland	4	1	2	0	1	3	9	−6	7	1.75
4	E	London City Lionesses	3	1	1	0	1	3	3	0	5	1.67
5	D	Reading	3	1	0	1	1	4	3	+1	4	1.33

Source: thefa.com

Knockout phase

The draw for the quarter-final was made on 20 December 2021 with Manchester United drawn away to five-time winners Arsenal, the competition's most successful team.^[9] The teams had met once before in the League Cup when United were a Championship side in the 2018–19 season.

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
19 January 2022	Quarter-final	Arsenal	A	1–0	Russo 85'	825
2 February 2022	Semi-final	Chelsea	A	1–3	Bøe Risa 32'	1,548

Squad statistics

See also: List of Manchester United W.F.C. records and statistics

As of 8 May 2022

Numbers in brackets denote appearances as substitute.

Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward

No.	Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total		Discipline
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	Emily Ramsey	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	DF	Martha Harris	0(1)	0	0(1)	0	1	0	1(2)	0	0	0
3	DF	Maria Thorisdottir	17(3)	1	2	0	4(1)	0	23(4)	1	2	0
4	MF	Jade Moore	0(3)	0	0	0	0	0	0(3)	0	0	0
5	DF	Aoife Mannion	12	0	1	0	6	0	19	0	0	0
6	DF	Hannah Blundell	19(2)	0	2	0	4(2)	0	25(4)	0	2	0
7	FW	Ella Toone	22	7	2	1	3(2)	1	27(2)	9	5	0
8	MF	Vilde Bøe Risa	8(9)	2	0(2)	0	4(2)	1	12(13)	3	0	0
9	FW	Martha Thomas	9(9)	5	2	0	4	1	15(9)	6	1	0
10	MF	Katie Zelem (c)	22	5	2	1	4(1)	1	28(1)	7	1	0
11	FW	Leah Galton	20(1)	8	1	0	4(2)	0	25(3)	8	1	0
12	MF	Hayley Ladd	12(2)	2	1	0	2(1)	0	15(3)	2	6	0
13	FW	Ivana Fuso	0(7)	0	1(1)	0	3(3)	2	4(11)	2	0	0
14	MF	Jackie Groenen	12(4)	0	1(1)	0	1	0	14(5)	0	1	0
15	DF	Diane Caldwell	5	0	1	0	0	0	6	0	3	0
16	FW	Signe Bruun	2(3)	0	0(1)	0	0(1)	0	2(5)	0	0	0
17	DF	Ona Batlle	21	1	1	0	3(1)	1	25(1)	2	3	0
18	FW	Kirsty Hanson	6(11)	1	0(1)	0	3(2)	0	9(14)	1	2	0
20	DF	Kirsty Smith	3	0	1	0	2	0	6	0	0	0
21	DF	Millie Turner	4	0	0	0	3	0	7	0	0	0
22	GK	Fran Bentley	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	FW	Alessia Russo	19(3)	9	1(1)	0	3(3)	2	23(7)	11	0	0
24	MF	Carrie Jones	0(3)	0	1	0	2	0	3(3)	0	0	0
25	DF	Tara Bourne	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	GK	Mary Earps	22	0	2	0	0(1)	0	24(1)	0	0	0
32	GK	Sophie Baggaley	0	0	0	0	6	0	6	0	0	1
37	MF	Lucy Staniforth	7(5)	2	0	0	3(1)	0	10(6)	2	2	0
38	FW	Karna Solskjær	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0
39	GK	Safia Middleton-Patel	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
40	DF	Niamh Murphy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
41	FW	Keira Barry	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Own goals			—	2	—	1	—	1	—	4	—	—

Transfers

In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Ref.
1 July 2021[a]	DF	Olivia Moulton	Bolton Wanderers	[10]
20 July 2021	MF	Vilde Bøe Risa	Sandviken	[11]
23 July 2021	DF	Hannah Blundell	Chelsea	[12]
	GK	Sophie Baggaley	Bristol City	[13]
26 July 2021	DF	Aoife Mannion	Manchester City	[14]
28 July 2021	FW	Martha Thomas	West Ham United	[15]
27 January 2022	DF	Diane Caldwell	North Carolina Courage	[16]
	MF	Jade Moore	Orlando Pride	[17]

Out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Ref.
21 June 2021	FW	Jessica Sigsworth	Leicester City[b]	[18][19]
23 June 2021	FW	Jane Ross	Rangers[c]	[20][21]
24 June 2021	FW	Christen Press	Angel City FC[d]	[22][23]
	FW	Tobin Heath	Arsenal[e]	[22][24]
25 June 2021	DF	Amy Turner	Orlando Pride	[25]
23 July 2021	FW	Lauren James	Chelsea	[26]
26 July 2021	DF	Abbie McManus	Leicester City[f]	[27][28]
30 July 2021	FW	Megan Hornby	Blackburn Rovers	[29]

Loans in

Date from	Date to	Pos.	Name	To	Ref.
27 January 2022	30 June 2022	FW	Signe Bruun	Lyon	[30]

Loans out

Date from	Date to	Pos.	Name	To	Ref.
6 August 2021	30 June 2022	GK	Emily Ramsey	Birmingham City	[31]
		GK	Fran Bentley	Bristol City	[32]
28 August 2021	29 January 2022	DF	Tara Bourne	Sheffield United	[33]
14 November 2022	30 June 2022	GK	Safia Middleton-Patel[g]	Blackburn Rovers	[34]
		MF	Chloe Williams[g]
29 January 2022		DF	Tara Bourne		[35]
12 March 2022	12 March 2022	GK	Safia Middleton-Patel[h]	Leicester City	[36]

Notes

1. Deal agreed 25 June 2021
2. Released, joined Leicester City on 16 July 2021
3. Released, joined Rangers on 6 July 2021
4. Released, joined Angel City on 23 August 2021
5. Released, joined Arsenal on 3 September 2021
6. Released, joined Leicester City on 27 July 2021
7. Dual registration
8. Emergency goalkeeper loan on non-contract terms

References

1. "Casey Stoney resigns as Manchester United Women manager amid tensions". The Guardian. 12 May 2021.
2. "Marc Skinner appointed as United Women head coach". ManUtd.com (Press release). Manchester United. 29 July 2021.
3. Garry, Tom (27 March 2022). "Manchester United set season-high WSL attendance record as Alessia Russo leads comeback win over Everton". The Telegraph.
4. "United Women announce pre-season games". ManUtd.com. Manchester United.
5. "Man Utd Women to play friendly against Rangers". ManUtd.com. Manchester United.
6. "West Ham Women vs Man Utd Women in the Women's Super League called off due to Covid-19". Sky Sports.
7. Garry, Tom (30 January 2022). "The FA Cup must close its gender pay gap, a prize pot 70 times less than the men is shameful". The Telegraph.
8. "Women's League Cup draw on talkSPORT". TalkSPORT. 27 July 2021.
9. "Arsenal to host Man Utd in Continental League Cup quarter-finals as holders Chelsea draw West Ham". Sky Sports.
10. "Congratulations to our u14's player Olivia Moulton on accepting a full playing contract at Manchester United. Not only this, Olivia was also offered a contract with Leeds". x.com. Bolton Wanderers Girls FC. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
11. "United Women sign Vilde Boe Risa" (Press release). Manchester United. 20 July 2021.
12. "United Women sign Hannah Blundell from Chelsea" (Press release). Manchester United. 23 July 2021.
13. "Sophie Baggaley joins Manchester United Women" (Press release). Manchester United. 23 July 2021.
14. "Aoife Mannion signs for United Women" (Press release). Manchester United. 26 July 2021.
15. "United Women sign Martha Thomas" (Press release). Manchester United. 28 July 2021.
16. "Caldwell signs until the end of the season" (Press release). Manchester United. 27 January 2022.
17. "Jade Moore signs for United" (Press release). Manchester United. 27 January 2022.
18. "Jess Sigsworth to depart United Women". Manchester United (Press release). 21 June 2021.
19. "LCFC Women Sign Striker Jess Sigsworth". Leicester City.
20. "Jane Ross to leave United Women". Manchester United (Press release). 23 June 2021.
21. "Rangers Confirm Signing Of Jane Ross". Rangers.
22. Feliciano, Daniel (24 June 2021). "Manchester United Women confirm departure of USA duo". Manchester Evening News.
23. Leiker, Emily. "Christen Press signs on as Angel City FC's first player with over $500K NWSL contract". USA Today.
24. "Arsenal sign United States forward Heath". BBC Sport.
25. "Orlando Pride Signs English International Amy Turner". www.orlandocitysc.com.
26. "Lauren James: Chelsea complete signing of Manchester United striker on four-year contract". Sky Sports.
27. "Abbie McManus departs United Women". Manchester United (Press release). 26 July 2021.
28. "Abbie McManus Signs For LCFC Women". Leicester City.
29. "Hornby returns to Rovers". Blackburn Rovers FC.
30. "Signe Bruun joins United Women on loan" (Press release). Manchester United. 27 January 2022.
31. "Ramsey signs new deal ahead of loan move" (Press release). Manchester United. 6 August 2021.
32. "Bentley is a Robin". Bristol City. 6 August 2021.
33. "Tara Bourne signs first professional deal ahead of loan move" (Press release). Manchester United. 28 August 2021.
34. "Safia and Chloe are both Blues". Blackburn Rovers FC.
35. "Bourne arrives on loan". Blackburn Rovers FC.
36. "Middleton-Patel Joins LCFC Women For Everton Trip". www.lcfc.com.

External links

• Official website (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish)