Barclays U21 Premier League 2016: Friday Results, Updated Standings and Schedule
Manchester United moved to the top of the Barclays Under-21 Premier League on goal difference on Friday, as they drew 1-1 with bitter rivals Liverpool, while Chelsea continued to make progress as they defeated the in-form Leicester City 2-1.
In Division 2, Derby County extended their lead at home to West Bromwich Albion, as they ran out 2-0 winners. West Ham United enjoyed a comfortable 4-1 victory away at Newcastle United, and Norwich City won 2-1 against Tottenham Hotspur.
Here is confirmation of all the results, the latest standings and the upcoming schedule:
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| Derby County | 2-0 | West Bromwich Albion |
| Liverpool | 1-1 | Manchester United |
| Newcastle United | 1-4 | West Ham United |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1-2 | Norwich City |
| Chelsea | 2-1 | Leicester City |
| Saturday, Mar 12 | 1 p.m. | Manchester City vs. Sunderland |
| Monday, Mar 14 | 12:30 p.m. | Blackburn Rovers vs. Fulham |
| Monday, Mar 14 | 1:30 p.m. | Middlesbrough vs. Southampton |
| Monday, Mar 14 | 7 p.m. | Aston Villa vs. Arsenal |
| Monday, Mar 14 | 7 p.m. | Everton vs. Reading |
| Monday, Mar 14 | 7 p.m. | Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Swansea City |
| 1 | Manchester United U21 | 17 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 37 | 14 | +23 | 38 |
| 2 | Sunderland U21 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 33 | 14 | +19 | 38 |
| 3 | Manchester City U21 | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 28 | 20 | +8 | 27 |
| 4 | Chelsea U21 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 29 | 22 | +7 | 23 |
| 5 | Everton U21 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 23 |
| 6 | Reading U21 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 28 | 33 | -5 | 23 |
| 7 | Liverpool U21 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 22 | 29 | -7 | 22 |
| 8 | Tottenham U21 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 35 | 37 | -2 | 21 |
| 9 | Leicester U21 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 21 | 39 | -18 | 18 |
| 10 | Southampton U21 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 24 | 34 | -10 | 17 |
| 11 | Norwich U21 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 21 | 39 | -18 | 15 |
| 22 | Middlesbrough U21 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 25 | -1 | 13 |
| 1 | Derby U21 | 20 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 42 | 24 | +18 | 39 |
| 2 | Arsenal U21 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 33 | 16 | +17 | 34 |
| 3 | Aston Villa U21 | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 32 |
| 4 | West Ham U21 | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 34 | 31 | +3 | 29 |
| 5 | Stoke U21 | 19 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 22 | 21 | +1 | 29 |
| 6 | West Bromwich Albion U21 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 20 | 17 | +3 | 27 |
| 7 | Swansea U21 | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 23 |
| 8 | Fulham U21 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 21 | 25 | -4 | 23 |
| 9 | Blackburn U21 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 22 | -1 | 21 |
| 10 | Newcastle U21 | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 35 | -11 | 17 |
| 11 | Wolverhampton U21 | 19 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 18 | 29 | -11 | 12 |
| 12 | Brighton & Hove Albion U21 | 18 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 32 | -20 | 10 |
Friday Recap
There were several familiar names in both United and Liverpool's starting lineups, as Antonio Valencia and Adnan Januzaj began the game for the former, and the likes of Martin Skrtel, Steven Caulker and Jordan Ibe started for the latter.
The visitors started the brighter, as they pinned the hosts back in their own half in the early stages, and Januzaj struck the woodwork from a neat volley after the ball rebounded back to the Belgian off the wall from a free-kick.
Liverpool created little in the first half, their most notable effort coming from Sheyi Ojo, who fired wide after a promising burst forward, per Andy Kelly of the Liverpool Echo:
The Reds took the lead early in the second half, though, when Jerome Sinclair coolly dinked in Ryan Kent's neat through ball. Buoyed by the goal, Liverpool dominated proceedings and forced a number of saves from Joel Pereira, as Skrtel, Kent and Alex O'Hanlon all came close.
United were gifted an equaliser with just less than 20 minutes remaining, as Kelly noted:
Danny Ward made a good save to deny James Weir a brace shortly after, with neither side able to find a late winner.
Leicester took the lead against Chelsea after 20 minutes when Joe Dodoo pounced a cute flick-on from Jacob Blyth and fired them ahead.
The Blues equalised before half-time, though, when Jake Clarke-Salter headed home Matt Miazga's cross. Chelsea doubled their lead through Reece Mitchell's header after he was expertly picked out by Fankaty Dabo, and despite a late rally from the Foxes, they held on for all three points.
Offrande Zanzala and Ivan Calero fired Derby to their win over West Brom, as the Rams bounced back from their defeat to Swansea City in style. They're now five points clear of Arsenal, but the Gunners have four games in hand.
The Hammers took an early lead against the Magpies thanks to a well-struck volley from captain Marcus Browne after just eight minutes. Moses Makasi made it 2-0 midway through the first half after a neat team move, and the visitors made sure of the result before half-time when Dan Kemp turned in Stephen Hendrie's cross.
Sean Longstaff pulled one back for the visitors before the break to cap off a thrilling opening period, but five minutes into the second half, Matt Carter restored their three-goal lead with a delightful chip that caught Brendan Pearson off his line.
As West Ham's official Twitter feed captured, Longstaff almost added to his tally:
The Toon rarely troubled their guests after that, though, and the Irons saw out an impressive victory.
Norwich got off to an electric start and rocked Spurs with an early goal from Jamal Lewis before Ray Grant made it 2-0 before the break. Tottenham had Kyle Walker-Peters sent off in the 80th minute, as the youngster picked up two bookings in 45 seconds.
William Miller sparked hopes of a comeback with a late goal, but the Canaries held firm for a deserved victory.
