STATS: Chelsea hold best half-time record while West Ham United were slowest starters

Chelsea would have won the Barclays FA Women’s Super League by a 13-point margin if the league title was decided based upon first half performance alone.

The Blues were leading in 19 of their 22 league fixtures at the break while their other three games were level. Emma Hayes’ side were 13 points better off at the interval than eventual runners-up Manchester City who were ahead in 14 of their 22 games, drawing three and losing five of their remaining eight games.

The half-time table sees Arsenal retain third place, just three points short of their final points tally of 48 while fourth-placed Manchester United would have collected 34 points based on half-time results compared to 47 points at full-time, the biggest points difference in the league.

Everton’s first half performances would keep them in fifth position while Reading would leapfrog Brighton & Hove Albion into sixth place with Kelly Chambers’ side boasting a five-point better record than The Seagulls in the opening 45 minutes of games.

The bottom half of the table looks very different based on first half performance compared to the full 90 minutes. Birmingham City would move up three places to eighth with 18 points and with a better goal difference than Aston Villa (ninth) and Tottenham Hotspur (tenth).

At the bottom, points gained in the first half would have kept Bristol City up by a single point while it would have been West Ham United who would have gone down with 15 points.

Statistics: Soccerway

About The Author

Daniel Pentland

I am the editor and owner of the WSL Full-Time brand which I launched in 2018.

I am an accredited journalist with the FWA, SJA and AIPS. I have reported from various levels of men’s and women’s elite football since 2016.

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