Chelsea Women 2021/22 season review: Top scorers, assists & player of the year

One more season and two more trophies are in the books for Chelsea.

Emma Hayes' side were the best team in England yet again, retaining and winning a remarkable sixth WSL title in one of the more memorable title races to date, and they added their fourth FA Cup for good measure.

It was a memorable season for the Blues, so let's review their 2021/22 season.

Chelsea Women 2021/22 player of the season

Sam Kerr

Individual accolades are a part of everyday life for Sam Kerr, who continued her reign as one of the deadliest finishers anywhere in the world.

The Matildas star has taken home the club's Player of the Season, the WSL Player of the Season, the WSL Fans' Player of the Year and the FWA Player of the Year prizes over the past few months, with her elite goalscoring and all-round play proving too much for defenders to cope with.

In a squad with so much attacking talent, Kerr somehow manages to stand out.

Honourable mentions: Erin Cuthbert, Millie Bright, Jess Carter

Chelsea Women 2021/22 goal of the season

Erin Cuthbert vs Man City

If you're going to score a screamer, there are few better places to do it than in an FA Cup final at Wembley against a fierce rival.

That's clearly what Erin Cuthbert was thinking as she leathered Chelsea ahead against Man City with a ferocious strike from range that was already aesthetically perfect before it dinked off the underside of the crossbar on its way into the net.

That goal, sandwiched in between a double from Kerr, saw Chelsea retain their title.

Honourable mentions: Pernille Harder vs Man Utd, Sam Kerr vs Man Utd

Chelsea Women 2021/22 performance of the season

Man Utd 1-6 Chelsea

After a 3-2 defeat to Arsenal on opening day, Chelsea needed to bounce back. A 4-0 win over Everton was a good start, but the 6-1 mauling of Man Utd away from home in late September sent the perfect signal to the rest of the league.

United had won their first two games of the campaign and would go on to prove themselves as a legitimate threat at the top of the table, so for Chelsea to breeze by them in such emphatic fashion really spoke volumes of their quality.

Fran Kirby opened the scoring within two minutes before Pernille Harder, Drew Spence, Jessie Fleming and a Sam Kerr double got the job done.

Honourable mentions: Leicester 0-9 Chelsea, Chelsea 3-1 Man Utd

Chelsea Women 2021/22 signing of the season

Aniek Nouwen

It's a small pool to choose from, but Aniek Nouwen deserves credit for how well she slotted into the squad following her summer switch from PSV.

The defender began the season in and out of the squad but soon established herself as a regular starter, playing a lot of minutes down the home stretch as Chelsea fought off competition from Arsenal at the top of the table.

With Magdalena Eriksson battling injury midway through the season, Nouwen took the chance to strut her stuff and never looked back.

Honourable mention: Lauren James

Chelsea Women 2021/22 most improved player

Jess Carter

One of the Blues' best performers of the season, Jess Carter established herself as a real force on the right side of Chelsea's defence.

Carter had a tough end to last campaign and didn't even begin this one in the best form, but instead of giving up hope, Hayes took a close look at the 24-year-old and figured out what it took to turn things around for Carter.

Her Chelsea career was on the line and Carter responded in immense style - something many fans will admit they did not see coming. What a year.

Honourable mentions: Guro Reiten, Jessie Fleming

Chelsea Women 2021/22 disappointment of the season

Maren Mjelde's injury struggles

Finding a bad side of this Chelsea squad is next to impossible. However, if there's one part of the campaign that did disappoint, it's the lack of minutes managed by defender Maren Mjelde.

The Norwegian picked up a nasty knee injury in March 2021 but was supposed to be back in time for the new season. Mjelde was eventually back on the bench in November but would manage just 56 minutes of action across four WSL appearances before the end of the season as fitness issues continued to prove a problem.

Chelsea have extended Mjelde's contract by a further year this summer, and the hope is that she can finally have a fresh start next year.

Chelsea Women 2021/22 most appearances

• Millie Bright - 36 (22 WSL, 6 Champions League, 5 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
• Jess Carter - 33 (21 WSL, 5 Champions League, 4 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
• Guro Reiten - 33 (21 WSL, 6 Champions League, 3 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
• Jessie Fleming - 33 (21 WSL, 5 Champions League, 5 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)
• Sophie Ingle - 32 (19 WSL, 5 Champions League, 5 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)

Chelsea Women 2021/22 top scorers

• Sam Kerr - 29 (20 WSL, 4 Champions League, 4 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
• Pernille Harder - 15 (6 WSL, 2 Champions League, 3 FA Cup, 4 League Cup)
• Bethany England - 12 (8 WSL, 1 Champions League, 3 FA Cup)
• Guro Reiten - 11 (7 WSL, 1 Champions League, 3 FA Cup)
• Fran Kirby - 8 (6 WSL, 2 Champions League)

Chelsea Women 2021/22 top assisters

• Fran Kirby - 11 (6 WSL, 3 Champions League, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
• Guro Reiten - 9 (6 WSL, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)
• Sam Kerr - 8 (4 WSL, 2 Champions League, 2 FA Cup)
• Pernille Harder - 7 (4 WSL, 3 FA Cup)
• Ji So-yun - 6 (5 WSL, 1 Champions League)

Chelsea Women 2021/22 record in all competitions

• WSL - P22, W18, D2, L2, GF 62, GA 11, GD +51, Pts 56, Position 1st
• Champions League - P6, W3, D2, L1, GF 13, GA 7, group stage
• FA Cup - P5, W5, D0, L0, GF 20, GA 3, winner
• League Cup - P3, W2, D0, L1, GF 8, GA 6, final