2016 Premier League 2: Monday's U23 Results, Updated Rankings and Fixtures
Manchester United's under-23s were held to a 2-2 draw by Reading at Adams Park on Monday in their Premier League 2 clash.
Meanwhile, Arsenal comfortably dispatched Leicester City 3-0, Newcastle United beat Blackburn Rovers 2-0 and Swansea City beat Norwich City by the same scoreline.
Brighton and Hove Albion came from behind to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1, and Tottenham Hotspur salvaged a draw with Sunderland from two goals down.
Here are all the results from Monday's games and the updated tables:
| Arsenal | 3-0 | Leicester City |
| Blackburn Rovers | 0-2 | Newcastle United |
| Brighton and Hove Albion | 2-1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| Derby County | 0-0 | Liverpool |
| Fulham | 4-1 | West Ham United |
| Norwich City | 0-2 | Swansea City |
| Reading | 2-2 | Manchester United |
| Southampton | 1-1 | Everton |
| Sunderland | 2-2 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| West Bromwich Albion | 0-0 | Middlesbrough |
| 1. | Everton U23 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | +15 | 23 |
| 2. | Manchester City U23 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | +7 | 21 |
| 3. | Liverpool U23 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | +10 | 20 |
| 4. | Arsenal U23 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | +1 | 16 |
| 5. | Sunderland U23 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | -2 | 16 |
| 6. | Chelsea U23 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 15 |
| 7. | Southampton U23 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 15 |
| 8. | Manchester United U23 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | -3 | 14 |
| 9. | Leicester U23 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | -4 | 12 |
| 10. | Reading U23 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | -8 | 11 |
| 11. | Derby U23 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -9 | 9 |
| 12. | Tottenham U23 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | -10 | 8 |
| 1. | Swansea U23 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | +10 | 27 |
| 2. | Wolves U23 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | +6 | 19 |
| 3. | Fulham U23 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | +6 | 18 |
| 4. | West Ham U23 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | +2 | 18 |
| 5. | West Brom U23 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | +2 | 17 |
| 6. | Newcastle Utd U23 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | -1 | 17 |
| 7. | Aston Villa U23 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | +4 | 16 |
| 8. | Brighton U23 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 3 | -1 | 12 |
| 9. | Blackburn U23 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | -5 | 12 |
| 10. | Norwich U23 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | -9 | 10 |
| 11. | Middlesbrough U23 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -8 | 9 |
| 12. | Stoke City U23 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -6 | 8 |
Here are the upcoming fixtures:
| Friday, December 9 | 7:05 p.m./2:05 p.m. | Chelsea vs. Manchester United |
| Saturday, December 10 | 1 p.m./8 a.m. | Manchester City vs. Reading |
Recap
Dominic Hyam opened the scoring for Reading after 25 minutes when the ball fell to him following a free-kick, but United turned things around in rapid fashion.
Four minutes after Hyam broke the deadlock, Josh Harrop netted from the penalty spot following a foul on Callum Gribbin, and 36 seconds later, he bagged his second from the kick-off as he surged forward through midfield and slotted home.
Joseph Mendes grabbed a leveller as the Red Devils struggled defensively, per United writer Jonny Bohane:
Eddie Nketiah was the hero for Arsenal against the Foxes as he bagged an impressive hat-trick. After curling home the opener in the first half, he fired in a second from the edge of the area, per Arsenal's official Twitter feed:
He found a third with a close-range volley to round out the scoring and seal the win.
Newcastle's Stuart Findlay capitalised on some slack Blackburn defending to score for the Magpies 10 minutes into the second half, and Callum Roberts killed off Rovers with six minutes of normal time remaining.
Everton took the lead against Southampton through Oumar Niasse:
They would be ahead for only a minute before Olufela Olomola converted a close-range effort of his own at the other end.
Will Randall rounded the goalkeeper to put Wolves ahead in Brighton, but Ben Hall and Richie Towell replied for the hosts. The visitors' hopes of a comeback were ended when Regan Upton received his marching orders for a second bookable offence late on.
Sunderland took an early lead over Spurs through George Honeyman before Adnan Januzaj showed his class, per the Chronicle's James Hunter:
However, Shilow Tracey netted on the stroke of half-time and grabbed a second after 54 minutes to ensure his side a share of the spoils.
Fulham raced to a 3-0 lead at half-time thanks to two goals from Stephen Humphrys and a Dennis Adeniran header. Toni Martinez pulled one back from the penalty spot on the hour mark, before Lasse Vigen Christensen finished off the scoring from close range.
Swansea enjoyed their fifth consecutive win after an own goal from Ben Godfrey and a Botti Biabi strike.
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