2016 Barclays Premier League 2: Friday U23 Results, Updated Rankings, Schedule
Liverpool's Under-23 side grabbed their first win of the 2016-17 Premier League 2 campaign, beating Arsenal 3-1 at Emirates Stadium on Friday.
Ben Woodburn gave the Reds a two-goal lead in the first half, but striker Chuba Akpom restored some excitement with a fine goal after the break. Toni Gomes scored shortly after to preserve the win.
Tottenham Hotspur beat Derby County 2-1, and Reading ended Manchester City's unbeaten run, winning 3-1.
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Here's a look at Friday's results:
| Derby U23 | 1-2 | Tottenham U23 |
| Arsenal U23 | 1-3 | Liverpool U23 |
| Brighton U23 | 1-0 | Fulham U23 |
| Reading U23 | 3-2 | Manchester City U23 |
| Swansea U23 | 2-0 | West Ham U23 |
| Wolves U23 | 3-1 | West Brom U23 |
The current Premier League 2 standings:
| Everton U23 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8:1 | 9 |
| Southampton U23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6:1 | 6 |
| Tottenham U23 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6:4 | 6 |
| Manchester City U23 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6:5 | 6 |
| Reading U23 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6:6 | 6 |
| Chelsea U23 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5:2 | 4 |
| Sunderland U23 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4:3 | 4 |
| Manchester United U23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1:2 | 3 |
| Liverpool U23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5:9 | 3 |
| Derby U23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3:7 | 0 |
| Leicester U23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3:8 | 0 |
| Arsenal U23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1:6 | 0 |
| Swansea U23 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7:3 | 9 |
| West Ham U23 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6:3 | 6 |
| Wolves U23 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7:5 | 6 |
| Brighton U23 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2:1 | 5 |
| Middlesbrough U23 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2:1 | 5 |
| Newcastle Utd U23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4:3 | 3 |
| Fulham U23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2:3 | 3 |
| West Brom U23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3:5 | 3 |
| Stoke City U23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1:3 | 3 |
| Aston Villa U23 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1:2 | 1 |
| Blackburn U23 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0:1 | 1 |
| Norwich U23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1:6 | 0 |
Here's the upcoming schedule:
| 27.08. 15:00 | Stoke City U23 | vs. | Blackburn U23 |
| 28.08. 14:00 | Sunderland U23 | vs. | Southampton U23 |
| 28.08. 14:05 | Manchester United U23 | vs. | Chelsea U23 |
| 29.08. 16:00 | Aston Villa U23 | vs. | Newcastle Utd U23 |
| 09.09. 20:00 | Derby U23 | vs. | Arsenal U23 |
| 09.09. 20:00 | Manchester City U23 | vs. | Manchester United U23 |
| 09.09. 20:00 | West Ham U23 | vs. | Wolves U23 |
| 09.09. 20:05 | Chelsea U23 | vs. | Tottenham U23 |
Recap
Both Arsenal and Liverpool started the Premier League 2 season in dreadful form, losing the first two matches, and as shared by James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo, fans didn't come out in force for this clash:
Lucas Leiva started at centre-back for the visitors, while Andre Wisdom also made the starting XI. Akpom and Jeff Reine-Adelaide lined up for the hosts.
The Reds took control of proceedings early and nearly opened the score after just a few minutes, with Woodburn isolating Harry Wilson in front of goal. However, the young forward couldn't keep his shot on target.
Shortly after, Leiva picked out Wilson with an excellent long ball, and he in turn laid it off for Woodburn, who converted to give his side the lead. Liverpool's official Twitter account shared this photo of the celebrations:
Liverpool continued to push for goals and nearly doubled their advantage through Cameron Brannagan, before Woodburn struck again, beating goalkeeper Matt Macey with a fantastic strike.
Arsenal had no answers for the onslaught and were lucky to go into half-time down by only two goals.
Leiva lasted 45 minutes on his return from injury, with Joe Maguire replacing him at half-time, and the Reds started the second half in a lower gear, looking to preserve their lead. Arsenal pulled within a goal, in their first real chance of the match, when Akpom turned inside the box before burying a shot.
Gomes hit back almost immediately, however, converting from a corner to score the final goal of the match and give Liverpool their first win.
Manchester City's excellent early-season form came to a screeching halt in Reading, where the hosts opened up a 3-0 lead in the first half. Paolo Fernandes pulled one back for City, but Reading stood firm for their second win.
Tottenham booked their second away win in five days against Derby County, thanks to goals from Kyle Walker-Peters and Shayon Harrison.
