2020–21 in English football

Football in England

Season	2020–21
Men's football
Premier League	Manchester City
Championship	Norwich City
League One	Hull City
League Two	Cheltenham Town
National League	Sutton United
FA Cup	Leicester City
EFL Trophy	Sunderland
EFL Cup	Manchester City
Community Shield	Arsenal
Women's football
FA Women's Super League	Chelsea
FA Women's League Cup	Chelsea
Community Shield	Chelsea
← 2019–20 2021–22 →

The 2020–21 season was the 141st season of competitive association football in England.

National teams[edit]

England national football team[edit]

Results and fixtures[edit]

Friendlies[edit]

England  v  Wales

8 October 2020	England	3–0	Wales	London, England
19:45 BST	Calvert-Lewin 26' Coady 53' Ings 63'	Report		Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Bobby Madden (Scotland)

England  v  Republic of Ireland

12 November 2020	England	3–0	Republic of Ireland	London, England
19:45 BST	Maguire 18' Sancho 31' Calvert-Lewin 56' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (Spain)

England  v  Austria

2 June 2021	England	1–0	Austria	Middlesbrough, England
20:00 BST	Saka 56'	Report		Stadium: Riverside Stadium Referee: Lawrence Visser (Belgium)

England  v  Romania

6 June 2021	England	1–0	Romania	Middlesbrough, England
17:00 BST	Rashford 68' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Riverside Stadium Referee: Tiago Martins (Portugal)

UEFA Nations League[edit]

Group 2[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Belgium	6	5	0	1	16	6	+10	15	Qualification for Nations League Finals		—	4–2	2–0	5–1
2	Denmark	6	3	1	2	8	7	+1	10[a]			0–2	—	0–0	2–1
3	England	6	3	1	2	7	4	+3	10[a]			2–1	0–1	—	4–0
4	Iceland (R)	6	0	0	6	3	17	−14	0	Relegation to League B		1–2	0–3	0–1	—

Iceland  v  England

5 September 2020	Iceland	0–1	England	Reykjavík, Iceland
19:45 BST		Report	Sterling 90+1' (pen.)	Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur Attendance: 0[note 1] Referee: Srđan Jovanović (Serbia)

Denmark  v  England

8 September 2020	Denmark	0–0	England	Copenhagen, Denmark
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Parken Attendance: 0[note 1] Referee: István Kovács (Romania)

England  v  Belgium

11 October 2020	England	2–1	Belgium	London, England
19:45 BST	Rashford 39' (pen.) Mount 64'	Report	Lukaku 16' (pen.)	Stadium: Wembley Stadium Referee: Tobias Stieler (Germany)

England  v  Denmark

14 October 2020	England	0–1	Denmark	London, England
19:45 BST		Report	Eriksen 35' (pen.)	Stadium: Wembley Stadium Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (Spain)

Belgium  v  England

15 November 2020	Belgium	2–0	England	Brussels, Belgium
19:45 BST	Tielemans 10' Mertens 23'	Report		Stadium: King Baudouin Stadium Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)

England  v  Iceland

18 November 2020	England	4–0	Iceland	London, England
19:45 GMT	Rice 20' Mount 24' Foden 80', 84'	Report		Stadium: Wembley Stadium Referee: Fábio Veríssimo (Portugal)

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification[edit]

Group I[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	England	10	8	2	0	39	3	+36	26	Qualification for 2022 FIFA World Cup		—	2–1	5–0	1–1	4–0	5–0
2	Poland	10	6	2	2	30	11	+19	20	Advance to play-offs		1–1	—	4–1	1–2	3–0	5–0
3	Albania	10	6	0	4	12	12	0	18			0–2	0–1	—	1–0	1–0	5–0
4	Hungary	10	5	2	3	19	13	+6	17			0–4	3–3	0–1	—	2–1	4–0
5	Andorra	10	2	0	8	8	24	−16	6			0–5	1–4	0–1	1–4	—	2–0
6	San Marino	10	0	0	10	1	46	−45	0			0–10	1–7	0–2	0–3	0–3	—

England  v  San Marino

25 March 2021 (2021-03-25)	England	5–0	San Marino	London, England
19:45	Ward-Prowse 14' Calvert-Lewin 21', 53' Sterling 31' Watkins 83'	Report		Stadium: Wembley Stadium Referee: Kirill Levnikov (Russia)

Albania  v  England

28 March 2021 (2021-03-28)	Albania	0–2	England	Tirana, Albania
18:00		Report	Kane 38' Mount 63'	Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Referee: Orel Grinfeld (Israel)

England  v  Poland

31 March 2021 (2021-03-31)	England	2–1	Poland	London, England
19:45	Kane 19' (pen.) Maguire 85'	Report	Moder 58'	Stadium: Wembley Stadium Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)

UEFA Euro 2020[edit]

Group D[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	England (H)	3	2	1	0	2	0	+2	7	Advance to knockout phase
2	Croatia	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	4[a]
3	Czech Republic	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	4[a]
4	Scotland (H)	3	0	1	2	1	5	−4	1

England  v  Croatia

13 June 2021 (2021-06-13)	England	1–0	Croatia	London, England
14:00	Sterling 57'	Report		Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 18,497 Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy)

England  v  Scotland

18 June 2021 (2021-06-18)	England	0–0	Scotland	London, England
20:00		Report		Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 20,306 Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Czech Republic  v  England

22 June 2021 (2021-06-22)	Czech Republic	0–1	England	London, England
20:00		Report	Sterling 12'	Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 19,104 Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)

Knockout phase[edit]

England  v  Germany

29 June 2021 (2021-06-29) R16	England	2–0	Germany	London, England
17:00	Sterling 75' Kane 86'	Report		Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 41,973 Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)

Ukraine  v  England

3 July QF	Ukraine	0–4	England	Rome, Italy
21:00 CEST		Report	Kane 4', 50' Maguire 46' J. Henderson 63'	Stadium: Stadio Olimpico Attendance: 11,880 Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)

England  v  Denmark

7 July SF	England	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Denmark	London, England
20:00 BST	Kjær 39' (o.g.) Kane 104'	Report	Damsgaard 30'	Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 64,950 Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)

Italy  v  England

11 July Final	Italy	1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–2 p)	England	London, England
20:00 BST	Bonucci 67'	Report	Shaw 2'	Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 67,173 Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)
	Penalties
	Berardi Belotti Bonucci Bernardeschi Jorginho		Kane Maguire Rashford Sancho Saka

England women's national football team[edit]

Results and fixtures[edit]

Friendlies[edit]

Germany  v  England

27 October 2020 (2020-10-27)	Germany	C-C	England	Wiesbaden, Germany
16:00 (16:00 UTC+1)				Stadium: Brita-Arena

England  v  Norway

1 December 2020	England	C-C[a]	Norway	Sheffield, England
19:15				Stadium: Bramall Lane

England  v  Northern Ireland

23 February 2021	England	6–0	Northern Ireland	Burton upon Trent, England
12:30	White 18', 23', 49' Bronze 29' Daly 67' Toone 75' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: St George's Park Attendance: Behind-closed-doors Referee: Lorraine Watson (Scotland)

France  v  England

9 April 2021	France	3–1	England	Caen, France
21:10 CET (UTC+1)	Baltimore 32' Asseyi 63' (pen.) Katoto 82'	Report	Kirby 79' (pen.)	Stadium: Stade Michel d'Ornano Referee: Sara Persson (Sweden)

England  v  Canada

13 April 2021	England	0–2	Canada	Stoke-on-Trent, England
19:15			Viens 3' Prince 86'	Stadium: Bet365 Stadium Referee: Cheryl Foster (Wales)

UEFA competitions[edit]

UEFA Champions League[edit]

Group stage[edit]

Group C[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		MCI	POR	OLY	MAR
1	Manchester City	6	5	1	0	13	1	+12	16	Advance to knockout phase		—	3–1	3–0	3–0
2	Porto	6	4	1	1	10	3	+7	13			0–0	—	2–0	3–0
3	Olympiacos	6	1	0	5	2	10	−8	3[b]	Transfer to Europa League		0–1	0–2	—	1–0
4	Marseille	6	1	0	5	2	13	−11	3[b]			0–3	0–2	2–1	—

Group D[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		LIV	ATA	AJX	MID
1	Liverpool	6	4	1	1	10	3	+7	13	Advance to knockout phase		—	0–2	1–0	2–0
2	Atalanta	6	3	2	1	10	8	+2	11			0–5	—	2–2	1–1
3	Ajax	6	2	1	3	7	7	0	7	Transfer to Europa League		0–1	0–1	—	3–1
4	Midtjylland	6	0	2	4	4	13	−9	2			1–1	0–4	1–2	—

Group E[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		CHE	SEV	KRA	REN
1	Chelsea	6	4	2	0	14	2	+12	14	Advance to knockout phase		—	0–0	1–1	3–0
2	Sevilla	6	4	1	1	9	8	+1	13			0–4	—	3–2	1–0
3	Krasnodar	6	1	2	3	6	11	−5	5	Transfer to Europa League		0–4	1–2	—	1–0
4	Rennes	6	0	1	5	3	11	−8	1			1–2	1–3	1–1	—

Group H[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PAR	RBL	MUN	IBFK
1	Paris Saint-Germain	6	4	0	2	13	6	+7	12[a]	Advance to knockout phase		—	1–0	1–2	5–1
2	RB Leipzig	6	4	0	2	11	12	−1	12[a]			2–1	—	3–2	2–0
3	Manchester United	6	3	0	3	15	10	+5	9	Transfer to Europa League		1–3	5–0	—	4–1
4	İstanbul Başakşehir	6	1	0	5	7	18	−11	3			0–2	3–4	2–1	—

Knockout phase[edit]

Round of 16[edit]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Borussia Mönchengladbach	0–4	Manchester City	0–2	0–2
Atlético Madrid	0–3	Chelsea	0–1	0–2
RB Leipzig	0–4	Liverpool	0–2	0–2

Quarter-finals[edit]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Manchester City	4–2	Borussia Dortmund	2–1	2–1
Porto	1–2	Chelsea	0–2	1–0
Real Madrid	3–1	Liverpool	3–1	0–0

Semi-finals[edit]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Paris Saint-Germain	1–4	Manchester City	1–2	0–2
Real Madrid	1–3	Chelsea	1–1	0–2

Final[edit]

29 May 2021 (2021-05-29)

20:00 WEST

Manchester City	0–1	Chelsea
	Report	Havertz 42'

Estádio do Dragão, Porto

Attendance: 14,110^[4]

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

UEFA Europa League[edit]

UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round[edit]

Second qualifying round[edit]

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Lokomotiv Plovdiv	1–2	Tottenham Hotspur

Third qualifying round[edit]

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Shkëndija	1–3	Tottenham Hotspur

Play-off round[edit]

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Tottenham Hotspur	7–2	Maccabi Haifa

Group stage[edit]

Group B[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ARS	MOL	RW	DUN
1	Arsenal	6	6	0	0	20	5	+15	18	Advance to knockout phase		—	4–1	4–1	3–0
2	Molde	6	3	1	2	9	11	−2	10			0–3	—	1–0	3–1
3	Rapid Wien	6	2	1	3	11	13	−2	7			1–2	2–2	—	4–3
4	Dundalk	6	0	0	6	8	19	−11	0			2–4	1–2	1–3	—

Group G[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		LEI	BRA	ZOR	AEK
1	Leicester City	6	4	1	1	14	5	+9	13[a]	Advance to knockout phase		—	4–0	3–0	2–0
2	Braga	6	4	1	1	14	10	+4	13[a]			3–3	—	2–0	3–0
3	Zorya Luhansk	6	2	0	4	6	11	−5	6			1–0	1–2	—	1–4
4	AEK Athens	6	1	0	5	7	15	−8	3			1–2	2–4	0–3	—

Group J[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		TOT	ANT	LASK	LUD
1	Tottenham Hotspur	6	4	1	1	15	5	+10	13	Advance to knockout phase		—	2–0	3–0	4–0
2	Antwerp	6	4	0	2	8	5	+3	12			1–0	—	0–1	3–1
3	LASK	6	3	1	2	11	12	−1	10			3–3	0–2	—	4–3
4	Ludogorets Razgrad	6	0	0	6	7	19	−12	0			1–3	1–2	1–3	—

Knockout phase[edit]

Round of 32[edit]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Wolfsberger AC	1–8	Tottenham Hotspur	1–4	0–4
Real Sociedad	0–4	Manchester United	0–4	0–0
Benfica	3–4	Arsenal	1–1	2–3
Slavia Prague	2–0	Leicester City	0–0	2–0

Round of 16[edit]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Olympiacos	2–3	Arsenal	1–3	1–0
Tottenham Hotspur	2–3[A]	Dinamo Zagreb	2–0	0–3 (a.e.t.)
Manchester United	2–1	Milan	1–1	1–0

Notes

Quarter-finals[edit]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Granada	0–4	Manchester United	0–2	0–2
Arsenal	5–1	Slavia Prague	1–1	4–0

Semi-finals[edit]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Manchester United	8–5	Roma	6–2	2–3
Villarreal	2–1	Arsenal	2–1	0–0

Final[edit]

26 May 2021 (2021-05-26)

21:00 CEST

Villarreal	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Manchester United
Gerard 29'	Report	Cavani 55'
Penalties
Gerard Raba Alcácer Moreno Parejo Gómez Albiol Coquelin Gaspar Torres Rulli	11–10	Mata Telles Fernandes Rashford Cavani Fred James Shaw Tuanzebe Lindelöf De Gea

Stadion Gdańsk, Gdańsk

Attendance: 9,412^[7]

Referee: Clément Turpin (France)

UEFA Youth League[edit]

On 17 February 2021, the UEFA Executive Committee cancelled the tournament.^[8]

UEFA Champions League Path[edit]

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Olympiacos	3 Mar	Manchester City
Manchester United	2 Mar	Real Madrid
Chelsea	3 Mar	Red Bull Salzburg
Liverpool	2 Mar	Marseille

UEFA Women's Champions League[edit]

Knockout phase[edit]

Round of 32[edit]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Kopparbergs/Göteborg	1–5	Manchester City	1–2	0–3
Benfica	0–8	Chelsea	0–5	0–3

Round of 16[edit]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Manchester City	8–0	Fiorentina	3–0	5–0
Chelsea	3–1	Atlético Madrid	2–0	1–1

Quarter-finals[edit]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Barcelona	4–2	Manchester City	3–0	1–2
Chelsea	5–1	VfL Wolfsburg	2–1	3–0

Semi-finals[edit]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Bayern Munich	3–5	Chelsea	2–1	1–4

Final[edit]

16 May 2021 (2021-05-16)

21:00 CEST

Chelsea	0–4	Barcelona
	Report	Leupolz 1' (o.g.) Putellas 14' (pen.) Bonmatí 21' Hansen 36'

Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg

Attendance: 0^{[note 2]}

Referee: Riem Hussein (Germany)

Men's football[edit]

Premier League[edit]

In a season played almost entirely behind closed doors, because of COVID-19 restrictions, all matches were televised live in the UK for the first time.^[10] Manchester City overcame a shaky start to the campaign and secured their third Premier League title in four seasons – having stood in eighth place in mid-December, the team went on an impressive 13-match winning run that sent them rocketing up the table and into first place, despite a succession of unexpected losses in the closing stages of the season, securing the title on top of a fourth consecutive League Cup victory and reaching their first ever Champions League final, losing in an all-English final to Chelsea. City rivals Manchester United finished not far behind them, despite not really being in the title race for much of the season, a consequence of a poor start which included three home losses in their opening six games (with further losses to Sheffield United, Leicester City and Liverpool at the turn of the year); however, the Red Devils at least ensured Champions League football once again, thanks in part to a remarkable run of form that saw them go unbeaten away from home all season.

The battle for the last two Champions League spots ended up going to the final day, with Chelsea, Leicester City and Liverpool battling it out – remarkably taking third spot were Liverpool, whose first title defence since 1990 ended up being one of struggle; whilst the Merseyside club stood top at the end of 2020, a complete collapse in form in the new year saw both the team's hopes of retaining the title as well as their 68-game unbeaten run at Anfield practically implode under the weight of both a lack of fans and an extensive injury crisis, including a season-ending injury to star defender Virgil van Dijk just five games into the campaign – however, a strong late run of form, coupled with the teams above them dropping points, helped the Reds to close the gap and squeeze into the top four. Chelsea finished fourth, a strong second half of the season under new manager Thomas Tuchel pushing the Blues from as low as ninth near the end of January to both securing a Champions League spot again and winning their first Champions League final since 2012 with victory over Manchester City, ending a mixed season (which included a second consecutive FA Cup final loss in a row) on a high. Having spent the most days in the top four for the season, another stuttering end to the league saw Leicester City finish fifth yet again and just barely miss out on the Champions League, with inferior home form compared to form on the road ultimately costing them; however, the Foxes at least finished the season with a trophy, winning their first ever FA Cup final and giving manager Brendan Rodgers his first piece of silverware with the club.

Finishing sixth were West Ham United, who surprised many in the season and went one further than their seventh-place finish in 2016 in manager David Moyes' first full campaign as Hammers boss, securing their biggest Premier League points total and a Europa League group spot for next year – the only blemish being an inconsistent end to the season, which cost what could have been potentially a shock top-four finish. North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur endured difficult form across their campaigns, the Gunners even hovering above the drop zone in December, whilst Spurs briefly led the table just before Christmas; a dismal second half of the season though would see Spurs plummet down the table and ultimately culminate in Jose Mourinho being sacked in late April; under interim coach Ryan Mason, Spurs recovered to seventh and a place in the brand new Europa Conference League competition for the following season; Arsenal finished eighth for the second successive campaign, but would be left without any European football next season for the first time in 26 years. Leeds United's first top-flight season since 2004 proved to be ultimately successful for the Yorkshire side, both the team and veteran Argentine manager Marcelo Bielsa attracting plenty of praise for their attacking football and providing some spectacular results even in defeat, the Lilywhites comfortably securing 59 points, the highest for a promoted side since 2001.

Despite achieving some superb results, including taking four points off city rivals Liverpool in two controversial Merseyside derby games, Everton's hopes of European football were let down by a poor run of form on their home ground, securing just six wins compared to eleven on the road, ending their season in a disappointing tenth. In what ended up being Nuno Espirito Santo's last season as head coach, Wolverhampton Wanderers endured what ended up being a less successful campaign than their previous two, the loss of star striker Raúl Jiménez to a freak accident in a win at Arsenal contributed to the Black Country club falling down the table after a decent start and only avoiding a relegation scrap because of the poor form of the teams below them. In what also ended up being Roy Hodgson's final season as their manager, Crystal Palace also comfortably avoided the drop, extending their record run of top-flight seasons to nine in a row for the next campaign.

At the bottom of the table, all three relegated teams ended up occupying the spots with at least three games to go, and for the first time since the introduction of three points for a win in the top-flight, none of the relegated sides broke the 30-point barrier. Just one season after breaking into the top ten, Sheffield United endured one of the worst seasons in their history, breaking many unwanted records and equalling the record for the most losses in a Premier League season and the lowest goals scored in a 38-game season, though a series of wins in the second half of the campaign meant they ended up with a points total that, while still poor, was far from the worst in Premier League history. West Bromwich Albion finished above them, the controversial decision to sack manager Slaven Bilić in December in favour of Sam Allardyce going against the Baggies, the former England manager suffering only his second relegation in his managerial history (and his first since 1997), as they fell back into the Championship after a single season. Also returning to the second tier after one season was Fulham; despite enjoying a much better campaign defensively and securing some impressive wins, the London club's hopes were ultimately let down by a lack of goals (including just nine scored at Craven Cottage) and a high number of draws, making it the fourth season in a row where they moved between the Premier League and the Championship.

Championship[edit]

Having been relegated on a whimper the previous year, Norwich City responded in emphatic style, securing both an immediate return to the Premier League and their second Championship title in three campaigns – whilst ultimately finishing with a lower goal record compared to other seasons, despite Finnish striker Teemu Pukki recording another superb goal haul, the Canaries enjoyed a rare and much-improved season in defence. Finishing second were Watford, who overcame yet another mid-season managerial change (their sixth in just over a year) to join the Canaries in returning to the top-flight after one season, a superb run of form in 2021 earning Spanish head coach Xisco Munoz promotion on top of the Hornets also having their own impressive defence, conceding the least number of goals for any second-tier team since losing play-off finalists Preston North End in 2006. Taking the final spot through the playoffs by beating Swansea City - and ending a barren run of nine playoff campaigns across their history without success - were Brentford, who made amends for their narrow final loss the previous year and secured promotion to the Premier League for the first time, their win also sending the Bees back into the top-flight for the first time in 74 years; in addition, in a first for English football, all three promoted managers from any of the Football League divisions came from outside the British Isles.

Despite ultimately losing out in the playoff semi-finals, Barnsley were undoubtedly the surprise package of the campaign; having looked likely to battle relegation yet again at the end of October and then seeing their head coach depart for America, the appointment of unknown French manager Valérien Ismaël saw the Tykes rocket up the table - with some impressive results along the way to boot - and comfortably secure 5th place. After having battled against relegation since losing in the play-off final in 2017, Reading enjoyed a much improved season under Serbian head coach Veljko Paunović, only missing out on promotion owing to several bouts of indifferent form throughout the season that the teams above them took advantage of. Despite hovering above the relegation zone for much of the season, Coventry City managed to pull themselves over the line in their first season in the second tier since 2012, a good run of results in the closing months of the campaign pushing them firmly into mid-table - whilst the Sky Blues also received some good news off-pitch, managing to secure a new contract to return to their home stadium of the Ricoh Arena after two seasons away.

For the second reason running, the battle to avoid relegation saw all three places left wide open going into the last round of games – taking bottom place in the closing minutes of the season were Sheffield Wednesday, who fought valiantly to avoid the drop, only for the points deduction (twelve later reduced to six on appeal) for breaching financial rules imposed prior to the start of the season result in survival falling out of their reach, sending the Yorkshire club back into the third tier after a nine-year absence. Rotherham United finished second-bottom, and were relegated straight back to League One, making this the fifth successive season in which they swapped between the two divisions; despite ending up as statistically the worst team in the division, they managed to keep themselves in contention for survival – mostly because of having a multitude of games in hand as a result of two COVID-19 outbreaks – and would actually have survived had they not conceded an 88th-minute equaliser in their final match. Despite having what proved to be a spirited first season in the Championship, Wycombe Wanderers endured an immediate relegation back to League One, their chances ultimately being undone by a dreadful start that saw them lose their first seven games of the campaign, but at least staving off relegation until the last day of the season. Derby County, who struggled all season despite the appointment of Wayne Rooney as manager in November, would also have been relegated if not for Wednesday's points deduction; they did secure survival on the final day by holding Wednesday to a draw, albeit the result would have relegated them both without Rotherham conceding a late equaliser.

League One[edit]

Playing in the third tier for the first time since 2005, Hull City made amends for their dramatic collapse in form and consequent relegation the previous season, this time being in the top two for almost the entire campaign and ultimately emerging as champions. Peterborough United finished as runners-up, making this the third time that manager Darren Ferguson had taken the club into the Championship, and his fourth promotion with the club overall; whilst a number of poor results nearly went against them, the Posh successfully achieved promotion in a 3–3 draw with Lincoln City. Taking the final promotion via the playoffs and ending a six-year exile from the second tier were Blackpool, who marked the end of their first full season under manager Neil Critchley in spectacular fashion; despite making a slow start to the campaign, the Seasiders rocketed up the table and solidified themselves in the top six, coming from behind to beat Lincoln City in the final.

Whilst ultimately missing out on promotion yet again, Sunderland did at least secure some success in their third consecutive League One season by winning their first EFL Trophy - whilst also gaining new ownership in the process, in the form of 24 year old businessman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus. A very poor start to the campaign for Burton Albion saw the Brewers pulled into a relegation battle, a battle which was won with games to spare following the return of influential manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for a second spell as manager. Wigan Athletic endured what proved to be yet another turbulent season both on and off the pitch, battling both a potential second successive relegation (and a potential fourth in seven seasons) and an uncertain future; however, a superb run of form late in the season that coincided with the Latics managing to find new ownership helped save the club from the drop.

Bristol Rovers finished bottom and returned to League Two for the first time in five years, with three different managers all trying and failing to improve the club's fortunes during the season. Swindon Town's season rapidly fell apart after promotion-winning manager Richie Wellens moved to Salford City early in the campaign, finishing the season with both the most defeats and the worst defence in the division as they suffered immediate relegation back to League Two; fellow newly promoted side Northampton Town joined them in immediate relegation, ultimately being cost dear by a terrible run of form in the winter. Rochdale occupied the fourth and final relegation spot, bringing an end to their longest spell to date in the third tier and finally enduring the relegation they had battled against in previous seasons.