Barclays U21 Premier League 2015: Monday Scores, Results and Updated Schedule
Reading rose to the top of the Under-21 Premier League Division 1 on Monday evening after defeating Liverpool 2-1 to ensure the Reds' winless start to the 2015-16 campaign lingered on.
The Royals move a point clear of Sunderland and two points ahead of third-place Southampton, who missed out on their opportunity to take the summit following a 1-1 draw at home to Middlesbrough.
There was slightly better fortune for Merseyside's other half, though, as Everton claimed a 1-1 draw at Leicester City to move off the bottom of the table.
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West Bromwich Albion made it three wins from three to take the Division 2 perch after defeating Blackburn Rovers 1-0 on Monday while Swansea City beat Stoke City to clinch back-to-back wins.
Read on for recap of all that drama and more from a packed day of under-21 action, along with a look at all the latest results and current standings.
| Southampton | 1-1 | Middlesbrough |
| Reading | 2-1 | Liverpool |
| Leicester City | 1-1 | Everton |
| Swansea City | 2-0 | Stoke City |
| West Bromwich Albion | 1-0 | Blackburn Rovers |
| West Ham United | 1-2 | Aston Villa |
| 1 | Reading U21 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 |
| 2 | Sunderland U21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 |
| 3 | Southampton U21 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 5 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hots… | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 4 |
| 5 | Norwich City U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | +0 | 3 |
| 6 | Chelsea U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 7 | Manchester Cit… | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | +0 | 2 |
| 8 | Middlesbrough U21 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 2 |
| 9 | Leicester City U21 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 2 |
| 10 | Everton U21 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | -3 | 2 |
| 11 | Manchester Uni… | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 1 |
| 12 | Liverpool U21 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 1 |
| 1 | West Bromwich … | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 |
| 2 | Aston Villa U21 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +3 | 7 |
| 3 | Wolverhampton U21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 6 |
| 4 | Arsenal U21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 |
| 5 | Swansea City U21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 |
| 6 | Stoke City U21 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +0 | 4 |
| 7 | Derby County U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 3 |
| 8 | Fulham U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 3 |
| 9 | Blackburn Rove… | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 1 |
| 10 | Newcastle Unit… | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 1 |
| 11 | West Ham Unite… | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 0 |
| 12 | Brighton & Hov… | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
Recap
Liverpool Under-21s are yet to claim a win after three games of the new season, succumbing to Reading 2-1 on Monday evening despite fielding a lineup comprising several of their more promising starlets.
The Royals knew they were striking all the right chords when Andrija Novakovich opened the scoring on the back of a terrific team move, with Rowan Liburd adding a decisive second after the break.
Bleacher Report's Jack Lusby confirmed the strength of Liverpool's Monday selection, including the likes of Tiago Ilori, Sergi Canos and Cameron Brannagan:
Southampton could have gone top of the standings earlier in the day had they managed to beat Boro, but the south-coast club will still look favourably upon their unbeaten start to the new term.
Lloyd Isgrove opened the scoring for Southampton before Dael Fry struck back with a sweet equaliser for the visitors, with Saints manager Martin Hunter telling the club's official website his side underperformed:
"The standards that we’ve set are high and we weren’t near the standards we need to be at to win at this level. Middlesbrough were bright, they were incisive and I thought they were first to the majority of one-against-one challenges.
We had a ten-minute block in the second half where we played something like we know we can. We’ve had a great chance at the end too where we could’ve stolen the three points. We’ve got a point, that’s a positive. Some of the defending, especially when I changed the defensive points around, was good, but I will look back at the game and we’ll have a debrief to go through it.
"
Everton conceded late against Leicester City to emerge with an identical result, where the Toffees were unable to hold out after Conor Grant fizzed in a terrific opener from 25 yards out.
It wasn't until the 82nd minute that Callum Elder got on the end of a Hamza Choudhury pass to net at the back post and deny Everton their first win of the season.
In Division 2, Swansea City attacker Oli McBurnie continued his fine vein of form to bag a brace against Stoke City and lead the Welsh hosts to a 2-0 beating of their guests.
Swans director John van Zweden showed his support for the youth ranks by praising McBurnie, who finds himself with three goals in his last two matches following Monday's display:
West Brom and Aston Villa continued moving up the standings after respective wins against Blackburn and West Ham United, with the Baggies the only team to have won three games this term.
Samir Nabi—younger brother to fellow West Brom academy star Adil—scored from the spot to push the Baggies past Rovers and to the top of the table, two points clear of the Villans.
Villa sealed back-to-back victories after captain Jordan Lyden rose in the 83rd minute to clash a vital three points against the Hammers in what was a tense encounter between claret-and-blue rivals.
Jerell Sellars slotted home a penalty to put Villa ahead before Manuel Lanzini struck back for West Ham, but Lyden played the leader's role well, taking his chance when it came to secure a valuable points haul.
