WSL 2022-23 review: club-by-club analysis and our writers’ highlights

Arsenal

ACL injuries to Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema, Leah Williamson and Laura Wienroither. Season-ending injuries to Kim Little and Lia Wälti. Long-term injuries to Caitlin Foord and Steph Catley. Arsenal’s season was blighted by the absence of key personnel. Yet, somehow, they have a League Cup trophy and a place in next season’s Champions League. The resilience of the squad, the willingness and desire of players to step up and fight for each other as the challenge has got harder and harder, has been incredible. SW

Aston Villa

The club secured their best WSL finish – fifth, 10 points behind fourth-placed Manchester City. They became the first club outside the top four to win 10 or more games, beating City and Arsenal along the way. They did so after having one of last summer’s best transfer windows, their outstanding signing being England’sRachel Daly, who went on to be named WSL player of the season and won the Golden Boot. Villa’s success is a big credit to the manager, Carla Ward, who has signed a contract for another season with the option to extend by a year. SR

Brighton

Brighton’s season can be summed up in one word: survival. When they lost 8-0 to Tottenham in October, a result that led to the manager Hope Powell’s departure, relegation worries crept in. They have maintained their top-flight status, finishing 11th, five points from the drop. Brighton have become accustomed to being a mid-table team and would have had hopes of finishing closer to the top four. Instead they have had their worst season in the WSL, registering their lowest finishing position and equalling their second-lowest amount of wins (four, the same as in 2018-19 and one more than in 2019-20 – the season curtailed by the pandemic). SR

Chelsea

Fourth successive league title, most wins in a WSL season, most points accrued across a campaign. Chelsea have not looked their best at times, the absences of Fran Kirby and Pernille Harder for much of the season disrupted their rhythm and the defensive rock Millie Bright was a loss late on. Chuck in five weeks without the manager, Emma Hayes, as she recovered from her emergency hysterectomy and this has been a truly remarkable campaign. The Blues have had to dig deep and win ugly on occasions. Excellent squad management has been key to their success, with players stepping up in May when most needed. SW

Everton

Everton had a much-improved season, benefiting from the stability of being guided by one manager after having three in the 2021-22 campaign. Brian Sørensen steered the club to sixth place, four spots higher than last season. If Everton are to finish higher next season they will have to start taking more points off the top four clubs. They won one and lost one against fifth-placed Aston Villa but their only pointagainst the top four was a 0-0 draw against Manchester United. SR

Leicester

The Great Escape complete! Leicester’s season was a cliched story of two halves as they became the first WSL team to overcome a seven-point deficit and stay up. It was an achievement Willie Kirk told club media was his “biggest one to date”. Victory over Brighton on the final day not only meant they secured safety but finished in their highest-ever position of tenth. The arrival of Kirk in November changed their fortunes as he installed a strong brand of football and brought in astute signings. Avoiding the drop was a must given the resources of the club and it should give them the platform to push on. SD

Liverpool

Rarely looked under pressure during their return to the top flight after two seasons in the Championship. Matt Beard’s experienced squad used their strong home form as the foundations for a seventh-placed finish and smart additions in January bolstered them for the second half of the campaign. The Japan international Fuka Nagano looks to be a special talent in the midfield area. It was their away form that let down Liverpool, who picked up five points on the road without a victory. With the departure of seven senior players announced, Liverpool’s transfer activity will be one to keep an eye on. SD

Manchester City

Having crashed out of the Champions League qualifiers, City got off to a rough start in the WSL with a thrilling 4-3 defeat by Aston Villa. That was followed by a 2-0 loss to Chelsea and City had to spend the season chasing. A run of 14 games without defeat hauled them back into Champions League contention but three defeats in their final six games, including a 2-1 loss to Arsenal, their rivals for third, meant they missed out on goal difference. It has been a poor season for City, with Khadija Shaw’s goals papering over the cracks of some pretty disjointed performances. Yes, there was lots of change last summer, with the key England players Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh among those leaving and the striker Ellen White retiring, but given the lack of Champions League games and the huge injury crisis at Arsenal, missing out on the top three has to be viewed as a failure. SW

Manchester United

A stunning season from Marc Skinner’s side. They were pipped to the post by Chelsea but doing the double over Arsenal and getting a first league win over Manchester City were highlights in a season where they have smashed their target of qualifying for the Champions League. There may be frustration with second place after they led the way for much of the season but ending as runners-up to a dominant Chelsea five years after the team was reformed is a staggering achievement. A fixed starting XI allowed them to build momentum but a lack of rotation also meant that when needed late on the fringes of the squad didn’t have the same cohesion on the pitch. SW

Reading

A heart-breaking season for Kelly Chambers’ side as their eight-year spell in the top flight came to an end. It was a campaign that never really got going for Reading, hindered by injury, a series of poor refereeing decisions and international breaks that prevented any momentum. The fighting spirit was never in doubt but they had visibly run out of steam when they needed it the most in those final few games. A tearful Chambers insisted after the final whistle on Sunday that the club would reset and rebuild but with Reading’s financial issues well known, that remains to be seen. SD

Tottenham

From finishing fifth last season to becoming embroiled in a relegation scrap, Tottenham hit a downward spiral after a bright start. Spurs have huge resources and quality players to rival most WSL teams, so you often wondered what was going wrong. One huge issue was the defence, with clean sheets rare. The team faced instability with Rehanne Skinner sacked in March and credit is due to the interim coach, Vicky Jepson, who kept the side up with tenacity. A positive was the addition of Beth England, who added the attacking edge the top teams possess and ended her first season at the club in style. RO

West Ham

In the reverse of Leicester’s story, West Ham’s second half of the campaign was one to forget. There was much excitement at the start of the season at the fast, attacking brand Paul Konchesky’s side were producing with players such as Viviane Asseyi in their attack. But they soon got figured out (marking Dagny Brynjarsdóttir out of the game was key) and struggled with seemingly no plan B. Just one league win in 2023 illustrates their poor form and the departure of Konchesky at the end of the season was no real surprise. SD

Player of the season

Rachel Daly had spent the summer playing full-back for England, so it was a statement move when Carla Ward brought her to Aston Villa to lead the line. The decision was rewarded – 22 goals in 22 games was a return beyond the majority’s imagination, equalling Vivianne Miedema’s league record. SD

Daly was an irrepressible force. She has been a livewire for Villa and has gone toe to toe in the scoring charts with some world-class strikers. Daly has an elite eye for movement in the box and is just as good at providing assists. RO

Daly was key to Villa’s success, carrying her goalscoring form from the National Women’s Soccer League to the WSL. She proved without doubt the best signing from last summer’s window. SR

Guro Reiten: nine goals and 11 assists for Chelsea. The Norwegian forward missed out on the individual honours to her club-mate Sam Kerr but she has stepped up a gear and, in my book, been her team’s best player. SW

Young player of the season

Maya Le Tissier. The 21-year-old has fitted seamlessly into Manchester United’s backline since her arrival from Brighton in the summer. She started every league game this season, a key part of the WSL’s meanest defence. Her magnificent last-ditch block to deny Manchester City’s Bunny Shaw in the penultimate game will linger in the memory. SD

Lauren James has shown us all what she is all about, with technical skills and the ability to shapeshift into a brilliant playmaker. To see a player possess all of this at the age of 21 is exciting and Chelsea will feel lucky to have such a gifted player for the future. RO

Le Tissier’s stunning tackle on Shaw in the derby to keep United in the title fight is just one example of how she has contributed to her club’s best-ever WSL campaign. Hugely influential and must be named in England’s World Cup squad on Wednesday. SR

Le Tissier. She has slotted seamlessly into the United backline alongside Millie Turner and looked unflappable. SW

Goal of the season

Katie McCabe’s 74th-minute wonder-strike to earn Arsenal a 2-1 victory over Manchester City was key to her team sealing that third Champions League spot over City. The quality of the goal is in no doubt but the circumstances around it make it my pick: the importance to Arsenal’s season and the fact that j72 hours earlier McCabe had left the Emirates in a protective boot. SD

Arsenal’s Frida Maanum is no stranger to long-range goals but her magnificent right-foot shot from the edge of the box against Leicester was a real chef’s kiss moment. RO

Erin Cuthbert for Chelsea against Tottenham in November. Cuthbert only scores screamers and this was no exception. She gathered the ball just outside the box, controlled it and curled it away from the keeper into the top right corner. Stunner. SR

McCabe against City. She collected a short corner, strode into the box and lashed into the top corner. All the more impressive given she had been in that protective boot after a hefty challenge in the preceding game. SW

Personal highlight of the season

Picking one is incredibly tough. But being at the Emirates in November, along with more than 40,000, to witness the drama of Manchester United’s last-ditch win over Arsenal is right up there. The noise of the away section when Alessia Russo’s 91st-minute winner hit the back of the net was spine-tingling, sealing United’s comeback and illustrating their breakthrough at the top of the division. SD

Watching Leicester improve and lift themselves to safety, after they had looked likely to face the drop. Willie Kirk has been instrumental in shifting the mindset at the club and starting to bandage back together a team that had several issues before he took charge. RO

Attending two matches at the Emirates. When Beth Mead was substituted in the north London derby in September the ripple of applause around the stadium as she walked back to the bench was incredible. SR

The atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium, culminating in the sold-out crowd for the visit of Wolfsburg in the Champions League. A mention too for the bouncing contingent of Arsenal fans at the away leg of that semi-final in Germany. SW