The 2020–21 season was Manchester United Women's third season since they were founded and their second 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.
In March 2021, it was announced the team would make their Old Trafford debut in a league match against West Ham United despite fans not yet allowed to return to stadiums due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Manchester United won the game 2–0.[2]
On 12 May 2021, it was announced Casey Stoney would be stepping down as manager at the end of the season amid tensions surrounding the lack of backing and resources from the club, particularly training facilities.[3][4]
Manchester United returned to preseason training on 24 July 2020. On 9 August, they played their first preseason friendly, hosting SWPL champions Glasgow City who were preparing for the restart of the 2019–20 UEFA Women's Champions League.[5]
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A |
Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 August 2020 | Glasgow City | H | 4–0 | Toone 4', Sigsworth (2) 73', 80', Hanson 88' | 0 |
| 16 August 2020 | Blackburn Rovers | H | Behind closed doors, no official scoreline | ||
| 23 August 2020 | Aston Villa | H | |||
| 30 August 2020 | Liverpool | H | 0–0 | 0 | |
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A |
Scorers | Attendance | League position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2020 | Chelsea | H | 1–1 | Galton 79' | 0 | 6th |
| 13 September 2020 | Birmingham City | A | 5–2 | Ross 5', Zelem 36', Toone 47', Hanson (2) 60', 79' | 0 | 4th |
| 4 October 2020 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 3–0 | Toone 9' (pen.), Russo 69', Ross 90+2' | 0 | 4th |
| 10 October 2020 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–0 | M. Turner 67' | 0 | 1st |
| 18 October 2020 | West Ham United | A | 4–2 | Russo (2) 20', 42', Heath 23', Press 87' | 0 | 3rd |
| 8 November 2020 | Arsenal | H | 1–0 | Toone 83' | 0 | 1st |
| 14 November 2020 | Manchester City | H | 2–2 | Heath 54', Hanson 74' | 0 | 1st |
| 5 December 2020 | Aston Villa | A | 2–0 | Galton 25', Toone 89' | 0 | 1st |
| 13 December 2020 | Reading | A | 2–1 | Galton 32', Ladd 83' | 623 | 1st |
| 20 December 2020 | Bristol City | H | 6–1 | Galton (2) 26', 63', M. Turner 45+2', Sigsworth 52', Heath (2) 83', 86' | 0 | 1st |
| 17 January 2021 | Chelsea | A | 1–2 | James 61' | 0 | 2nd |
| 24 January 2021 | Birmingham City | H | 2–0 | Galton 46', Toone 81' | 0 | 1st |
| 31 January 2021[a] | Everton | A | 2–0 | Toone 9', Press 42' | 0 | 2nd |
| 7 February 2021 | Reading | H | 0–2 | 0 | 2nd | |
| 12 February 2021 | Manchester City | A | 0–3 | 0 | 3rd | |
| 7 March 2021 | Aston Villa | H | 3–0 | Hanson 27', Sigsworth 43', Zelem 73' | 0 | 3rd |
| 19 March 2021 | Arsenal | A | 0–2 | 0 | 3rd | |
| 27 March 2021 | West Ham United | H | 2–0 | James 49', Press 55' | 0 | 3rd |
| 4 April 2021 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 0–1 | 0 | 4th | |
| 25 April 2021 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 4–1 | Toone 9', 48' (pen.), Press 19', Sigsworth 31' | 0 | 4th |
| 2 May 2021 | Bristol City | A | 1–0 | Daniëls 79' (o.g.) | 0 | 4th |
| 9 May 2021 | Everton | H | 2–0 | Toone 6', Hanson 89' | 0 | 4th |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
As a member of the top two tiers, United will enter the FA Cup in the fourth round proper, originally scheduled to take place on 31 January 2021.[7] The round was ultimately rescheduled for 18 April following the suspension of the competition at the second round stage on 4 January in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] United were drawn away to Burnley, the first competitive match against a team outside of the top two divisions since the team's creation in 2018.[9] Having progressed to the fifth round with a 6–0 win over Burnley, United were eliminated by 2020–21 Championship winners Leicester City 3–2 on 16 May 2021, Casey Stoney's last game in charge of the team.[10]
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A |
Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 April 2021 | Round 4 | Burnley | A | 6–0 | M. Turner 11', Toone 16', Staniforth 29', A. Turner 44', Hanson (2) 47', 58' | 0 |
| 16 May 2021 | Round 5 | Leicester City | H | 2–3 | Sigsworth 32', Ross 59' | 0 |
In a change of format to reduce the number of group stage games by two, the League Cup was expanded into six regional groups instead of four, with the six group winners plus the two best second place teams qualifying for the knockout round. Manchester United were entered into Group C for the 2020–21 League Cup alongside fellow WSL teams Everton and Manchester City, and Championship side Liverpool.[11] After losing the opening round fixture to Liverpool, United's second game against Everton was postponed due to safety concerns following overnight wind damage to the stadium.[12] On 19 November, United contested their first penalty shoot-out following a goalless draw with City to determine which side would get the bonus point per competition rules. United successfully scored all four of their penalties (Toone, Groenen, Millie Turner and Ladd) while an Emily Ramsey save on Laura Coombs' second penalty set up a decisive fifth attempt for City which was duly missed by former United captain Alex Greenwood. Despite earning the bonus point, failing to win meant United could not progress to the knockout stage of the League Cup for the first time having reached the semi-finals the previous two seasons.[13][14] The rearranged third fixture was scheduled for 16 December with opponents Everton still potentially able to qualify as one of the best second-place teams.[15]
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A |
Scorers | Attendance | Group position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 October 2020 | Liverpool | A | 1–3 | McManus 28' | 0 | 4th |
| 4 November 2020 | Everton | A | Postponed due to stadium safety concerns[12] | |||
| 19 November 2020 | Manchester City | H | 0–0 (4–3 p) |
0 | 4th | |
| 16 December 2020 | Everton | A | 0–1 | 0 | 4th | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WPEN | LPEN | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MCI | EVE | LIV | MNU | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 7 | Advanced to knock-out stage | — | 3–1 | — | — | |
| 2 | Everton | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | Possible knock-out stage based on ranking | — | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| 3 | Liverpool | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | 0–3 | — | — | 3–1 | ||
| 4 | Manchester United | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 2 | 0–0 | — | — | — |
| 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 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Martha Harris
|
4(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF |  Lotta Ökvist
|
1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF |  Maria Thorisdottir
|
4(2) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Amy Turner
|
19(2) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 22(2) | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Abbie McManus
|
5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | Ella Toone
|
21(1) | 9 | 1(1) | 1 | 1(2) | 0 | 23(4) | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Jessica Sigsworth
|
6(8) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1(1) | 0 | 9(9) | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Katie Zelem (c)
|
16(2) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 20(3) | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | Leah Galton
|
15(2) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 18(3) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF |  Hayley Ladd
|
12(6) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 14(7) | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 13 | FW |  Ivana Fuso
|
0(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF |  Jackie Groenen
|
18(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21(4) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Lauren James
|
5(5) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6(5) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF |  Ona Batlle
|
19 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | FW |  Kirsty Hanson
|
11(9) | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1(2) | 0 | 14(11) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Jane Ross
|
3(9) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7(9) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | Kirsty Smith
|
11(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Millie Turner
|
22 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | GK | Fran Bentley
|
0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Alessia Russo
|
3(1) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4(1) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | FW |  Christen Press
|
12(2) | 4 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 12(5) | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | Megan Hornby
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | GK | Mary Earps
|
22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | Carrie Jones
|
0(2) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | Tara Bourne
|
0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | Lucy Staniforth
|
6(8) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1(1) | 0 | 9(9) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 77 | FW | Tobin Heath
|
7(1) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 9(2) | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Own goals | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | ||
| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 June 2020 | MF | Carrie Jones
|
Cardiff City
|
[16] |
| 9 July 2020 | MF | Lucy Staniforth
|
Birmingham City
|
[17] |
| 13 July 2020 | DF | Ona Batlle
|
Levante
|
[18] |
| 14 July 2020 | FW | Ivana Fuso
|
 FC Basel
|
[19] |
| 9 September 2020 | FW | Tobin Heath
|
Portland Thorns
|
[20] |
| FW | Christen Press
|
Utah Royals
|
[21] | |
| 10 September 2020 | FW | Alessia Russo
|
North Carolina Tar Heels
|
[22] |
| 22 January 2020 | DF | Maria Thorisdottir
|
Chelsea
|
[23] |
| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 June 2020 | GK | Aurora Mikalsen
|
Tottenham Hotspur[b]
|
[24][25] |
| 7 June 2020 | DF | Charlotte Newsham
|
Blackburn Rovers[c]
|
[26][27] |
| 8 June 2020 | MF | Aimee Palmer
|
Bristol City[d]
|
[28][29] |
| 11 June 2020 | FW | Lizzie Arnot
|
Rangers[e]
|
[30][31] |
| 15 July 2020 | GK | Siobhan Chamberlain
|
Retired[f] | [32][33] |
| 4 September 2020 | MF | Mollie Green
|
Birmingham City[g]
|
[34][35] |
| 14 January 2021 | DF | Lotta Ökvist
|
Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC
|
[36] |
| Date from | Date to | Pos. | Name | To | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 September 2020 | 13 December 2020 | GK | Fran Bentley
|
Blackburn Rovers
|
[37][38] |
| 7 October 2020 | 30 June 2021 | FW | Maria Edwards
|
Blackburn Rovers
|
[39] |
| 21 January 2021 | 30 June 2021 | DF | Abbie McManus
|
Tottenham Hotspur
|
[40] |
| 7 March 2021 | 24 April 2021 | GK | Emily Ramsey
|
West Ham United
|
[41] |
