Barclays U21 Premier League 2015: Everton vs. Liverpool Result, Updated Fixtures
| 1. | Tottenham U21 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7:4 | 4 |
| 2. | Southampton U21 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5:3 | 4 |
| 3. | Reading U21 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3:2 | 4 |
| 4. | Sunderland U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4:3 | 3 |
| 5. | Norwich U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3:3 | 3 |
| 6. | Chelsea U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2:3 | 3 |
| 7. | Manchester City U21 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5:5 | 2 |
| 8. | Manchester United U21 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:1 | 1 |
| 9. | Middlesbrough U21 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:1 | 1 |
| 10. | Liverpool U21 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3:4 | 1 |
| 11. | Leicester U21 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1:3 | 1 |
| 12. | Everton U21 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4:7 | 1 |
| 1. | West Brom U21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4:2 | 6 |
| 2. | Aston Villa U21 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:0 | 4 |
| 3. | Stoke City U21 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:0 | 4 |
| 4. | Wolves U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3:2 | 3 |
| 5. | Arsenal U21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 3 |
| 6. | Swansea U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2:2 | 3 |
| 7. | Fulham U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1:1 | 3 |
| 8. | Derby U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1:1 | 3 |
| 9. | Blackburn U21 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1:2 | 1 |
| 10. | Newcastle Utd U21 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2:4 | 1 |
| 11. | West Ham U21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:2 | 0 |
| 12. | Brighton U21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0:2 | 0 |
Everton completed a miraculous comeback to earn a 3-3 draw against rivals Liverpool in the first Merseyside derby of the 2015-16 Premier League under-21 season. The Toffees somehow came back from a three-goal deficit, with Liverpool dominating the first half.
Harry Wilson, Joao Carlos Teixeira and Sergi Canos gave the Reds a comfortable lead, but the Toffees fought their way back into the match through Joe Williams and Conor McAleny. In the final minutes, Tom Davies powered home a rebound to gift his side an unlikely draw.
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Here's a look at the latest standings:
| Friday, August 21 | Arsenal | vs. | Derby County |
| Friday, August 21 | Fulham | vs. | Wolverhampton |
Here's the schedule for Friday's under-21 Premier League action:
As shared by the Premier League's official Twitter account, Toffees manager David Unsworth knew his guys would be ready for the big derby:
Before the start of the match, the Toffees announced summer signing Mason Holgate would be making his debut for the club, after moving from Barnsley just days ago:
The young defender knew he would be in for a challenge against Liverpool's vaunted forwards, and from the opening whistle, the Reds were on the attack. While chances were few in the opening 10 minutes, Liverpool dominated possession and patiently worked the ball toward the Everton box.
That approach paid off after 11 minutes, as Wilson was tripped up inside the box as he was turning to shoot. The prolific forward converted the penalty himself, calmly slotting the ball into the corner.
The Liverpool Echo's Andy Kelly thought the official all but gifted the Reds the penalty, although the defender could have done better:
Just minutes later, Liverpool doubled their lead. Teixeira found a bit of space on the edge of the box and fired a hard, low strike on goal, taking advantage from some very sloppy defending.
Down by two goals, the Toffees started to push for an equaliser, but apart from a powerful shot from Callum Connolly, Ryan Fulton was hardly ever troubled. Wilson and Teixeira nearly combined to make it 3-0, but the former saw his shot cleared off the line. Jack Dunn also struck the post from close range, as the Reds seemed determined to increase their advantage before half-time.
That eventually happened, with Canos finding the net from close range after a clever little flick from Daniel Cleary. But just as it seemed the Reds were on the verge of a rout, Williams fired a shot on goal that took a deflection of Cleary and reduced the deficit to two goals. Kelly didn't see that coming:
While the match lacked that typical derby-feel during the first half, Everton were determined to change that after the break. The hosts played a far more physical game in an attempt to battle their way back into the match, resulting in a number of rash tackles and even a handful of altercations.
As shared by Kelly, Cleary and Davies got into it after a harsh tackle from the latter, while Williams also received a stern talk from the official after running into Wilson:
The Reds reacted by taking off Canos, one of their most important players, and bringing on Pedro Chirivella to beef up the midfield.
Sam Byrne should have reduced the deficit to a single goal after 66 minutes after some great work from Gethin Jones, but a poorly-timed jump meant his header sailed well over the bar.
McAleny eventually found the breakthrough, beating Fulton with a low drive to keep his team's chances for an upset alive. Kelly had some idea of what the Reds must have been thinking:
The Toffees pushed hard for an equaliser, and Ian Lavery drew an excellent save from Fulton, who was furious with his defenders' sudden lapse of concentration.
It didn't seem to help, as Fulton was forced into action again to save a shot from Matthew Pennington. The ball fell right into the feet of Davies, who didn't make a mistake from close range to win his team a point.
As you'd expect, Liverpool fans were none too happy:
The Reds tried to chase a late winner but seemed exhausted at this point, while Everton gladly defended the 3-3 score until the final whistle.
While the first half may have been a bit tame, the first Merseyside derby of the season certainly delivered in terms of drama and excitement. Just two matchdays into the season, the Reds are already in danger of falling behind the other title hopefuls, and they'll need to turn their momentum around real soon.
The 2015-16 Under-21 Premier League season continues with two Group 2 matches. Arsenal continue their quest to earn promotion back into Group 1 against Derby County, while Fulham host Wolverhampton Wanderers.
