Barclays U21 Premier League 2016: Friday Results, Latest Standings and Schedule

Arsenal slumped to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Blackburn Rovers during Friday's Barclays Under-21 Premier League action, another blow to their chances of getting promoted back to Group 1.

Sam Lavelle scored the only goal of the match in the first half, and the hosts comfortably dealt with Arsenal's pressure during the second half to preserve the win.

In Friday's other match, Middlesbrough grabbed a shocking 3-1 win over Manchester City, boosting their chances of surviving the relegation battle in Group 1.

Here's a look at the Under-21 Premier League standings:

Group 1	Team	PL	W	D	L	GF:GA	PTS
Group 2	Team	PL	W	D	L	GF:GA	PTS
1.	Sunderland U21	20	13	3	4	35:15	42
2.	Manchester United U21	17	12	2	3	37:14	38
3.	Manchester City U21	18	8	4	6	30:24	28
4.	Reading U21	21	7	6	8	34:37	27
5.	Chelsea U21	15	7	4	4	29:22	25
6.	Everton U21	17	6	6	5	27:25	24
7.	Tottenham U21	19	6	6	7	38:37	24
8.	Southampton U21	19	6	5	8	32:35	23
9.	Liverpool U21	19	6	4	9	22:34	22
10.	Leicester U21	18	5	3	10	21:42	18
11.	Middlesbrough U21	19	4	5	10	30:32	17
12.	Norwich U21	18	4	4	10	25:43	16
1.	Derby U21	20	12	3	5	42:24	39
2.	Aston Villa U21	19	10	5	4	23:22	35
3.	Arsenal U21	18	10	4	4	33:18	34
4.	Stoke City U21	20	10	2	8	23:21	32
5.	West Ham U21	20	8	5	7	34:31	29
6.	Swansea U21	18	8	3	7	29:19	27
7.	West Brom U21	19	6	9	4	20:17	27
8.	Blackburn U21	19	8	3	8	24:30	27
9.	Fulham U21	19	7	5	7	23:25	26
10.	Newcastle Utd U21	19	4	6	9	25:36	18
11.	Wolves U21	21	2	7	12	20:32	13
12.	Brighton U21	20	1	8	11	13:34	11

Here's the schedule for the coming days:

Date	Home	vs.	Away
Sunday, April 3	Sunderland U21	vs.	Southampton U21
Monday, April 4	Brighton U21	vs.	Blackburn U21
Monday, April 4	Fulham U21	vs.	Derby U21
Monday, April 4	Leicester U21	vs.	Liverpool U21
Monday, April 4	Norwich U21	vs.	Everton U21
Monday, April 4	Swansea U21	vs.	Newcastle Utd U21
Monday, April 4	West Brom U21	vs.	Aston Villa U21
Monday, April 4	West Ham U21	vs.	Stoke City U21
Monday, April 4	Manchester United U21	vs.	Chelsea U21
Wednesday, April 6	Tottenham U21	vs.	Middlesbrough U21

Recap

The Gunners opted for possession in the first half, while Blackburn started the match by pressing before settling in defensively. As a result, chances were few. Donyell Malen should have scored from close range, firing over the bar, and Scott Wharton nearly slotted home after a corner.

Set pieces continued to trouble Arsenal, and Rovers took the lead after 38 minutes through Lavelle, who had too much space to head home.

Dan Crowley and Serge Gnabry had chances to pull Arsenal level before the break but failed to do so, and Jason Lowe came close to doubling Rovers' lead with another headed chance shortly after half-time. 

GLYN KIRK/Getty Images

Arsenal gradually increased the pressure during the second half, but the Gunners didn't attack with any urgency until time started running out.

Crowley fired wide from a promising position after 83 minutes, and an expected late push never materialised as the hosts comfortably defended their goal and held on for the win.

The Gunners still chase Group 2 leaders Derby County by five points, and only the top spot will automatically lead to promotion to Group 1.

Manchester City's Group 1 title bid has been over for some time, and the Citizens suffered yet another shock defeat on Friday, this time at the hands of Middlesbrough.

The hosts survived an early storm and started pushing for an opening goal toward the end of the first half, and they came close early in the second, as Jordan Jones hit the crossbar. But it was the inevitable Arnel Jakupovic who broke the deadlock with a fine strike, building on his fantastic form, per Jonathon Taylor of the Evening Gazette:

City pushed for an equaliser and came close on a few occasions, but Tom McAloon found the net with a powerful header from close range to double the lead.

Boro were unleashed and found plenty of success on the counter-attack, and when goalkeeper Billy O'Brien spilled a routine ball, Jakupovic was there to tap home his second and move to the top of the Group 1 scorers' list, per Youthhawk:

Brandon Barker scored a late consolation goal for City, who trail Sunderland by 14 points with two matches in hand following the loss against Middlesbrough. Manchester United remain the Group 1 favourites, trailing Sunderland by four points with three matches in hand.

Middlesbrough moved out of last place in the Group 1 standings with the win, and they now sit just one point behind Leicester City in the relegation battle.

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