2016 Premier League 2: Friday's U23 Scores, Updated Rankings, Schedule

Arsenal grabbed a much-needed win over rivals Chelsea in a heated derby during Friday's 2016-17 Premier League 2 action, beating the Blues 2-1.

Reiss Nelson and Stephy Mavididi took care of the scoring for the Gunners, while Charlie Wakefield got on the board for the Blues.

Manchester City's under-23 side only managed a 1-1 draw at home against winless Leicester City, and Southampton beat Tottenham Hotspur in a feisty 1-0 contest that saw two red cards.

Here's a look at Friday's results:

Manchester City U23	1 - 1	Leicester U23
Southampton U23	1 - 0	Tottenham U23
Chelsea U23	1 - 2	Arsenal U23

The current Premier League 2 standings:

Pos	Team	PL	W	D	L	GF : GA	Pts
1.	Southampton U23	6	4	1	1	12:7	13
2.	Everton U23	5	4	0	1	13:2	12
3.	Manchester City U23	6	3	2	1	12:9	11
4.	Sunderland U23	5	3	1	1	10:7	10
5.	Liverpool U23	5	3	0	2	15:11	9
6.	Reading U23	5	3	0	2	9:10	9
7.	Chelsea U23	6	2	2	2	11:8	8
8.	Manchester United U23	5	2	2	1	6:6	8
9.	Tottenham U23	6	2	0	4	9:14	6
10.	Arsenal U23	6	2	0	4	6:13	6
11.	Leicester U23	6	0	2	4	6:15	2
12.	Derby U23	5	0	0	5	6:13	0

Here's a look at the upcoming schedule:

Date, Time	Home	Away
25.09. 14:00	Liverpool U23	Sunderland U23
26.09. 20:00	Blackburn U23	Wolves U23
26.09. 20:00	Derby U23	Reading U23
26.09. 20:00	Everton U23	Manchester United U23
26.09. 20:00	Fulham U23	Norwich U23
26.09. 20:00	Middlesbrough U23	Aston Villa U23
26.09. 20:00	Newcastle Utd U23	Swansea U23
26.09. 20:00	West Brom U23	Stoke City U23
26.09. 20:00	West Ham U23	Brighton U23

Recap

As shared by Arsenal's official Twitter account, the Blues hosted the match at the iconic Stamford Bridge, highlighting the rivalry between both sides:

Adam Shergold of MailOnline shared the teamsheet, with Krystian Bielik getting the start for the visitors:

The Gunners haven't enjoyed a great Premier League 2 season so far, but they started well against their west London rivals. Chelsea's Jay Dasilva had his hands full trying to contain a strong Arsenal attack that caused a lot of problems with their movement.

Ike Ugbo had a shot blocked and Chelsea did some damage from set-piece routines, but the Gunners took the lead on the counter-attack, with Nelson producing a fine finish, per Shergold:

Arsenal's Gedion Zelalem tested Chelsea goalkeeper Nathan Baxter's reflexes with a shot shortly after, and Gunners goalkeeper Matt Macey was also busy, keeping out Ugbo.

The Blues introduced Wakefield at half-time, and the forward immediately tested Macey with a hard drive. He and Josimar Quintero combined well throughout the half and caused all sorts of problems. But Arsenal still threatened on the counter, and Nelson should have put the Blues away for good when he went one-on-one with Baxter.

Instead, Wakefield pulled his side level minutes after drawing another fine save from Macey. The Arsenal stopper did well to deny Ugbo, but Wakefield was positioned well to tap home the rebound.

Tom Dulat/Getty Images

Chelsea finished the match on the front foot, pushing for a winner, but it was Mavididi who broke the deadlock after the defence took a poor angle on a long ball.

The win is only Arsenal's second of the season but moves the side four points clear of the relegation zone. Derby County and Leicester remain the clear favourites to go down, although the Foxes grabbed an unlikely point in Manchester.

Yohan Benalouane gave the team an unexpected lead against the in-form Citizens, who could have gone top with a win. Cameron Humphreys secured a point for the hosts.

Southampton are the new Group 1 leaders after a 1-0 win over Spurs, thanks to a goal from Jack Stephens. Here's a look at the goal, per the Saints' official Twitter account:

Both Tottenham Hotspur's George Marsh and Southamption's Harley Willard saw red cards after a large scuffle broke out between the teams. The two players had already been booked.