2016 Premier League 2: Tuesday's U23 Result, Latest Rankings, Updated Fixtures

Liverpool managed a point after earning a 1-1 draw away to Manchester United at the Leigh Sports Village in the U23 Premier League on Tuesday night. Creative midfielder Harry Wilson finished with aplomb to give the visitors a 1-0 lead at the break, but Josh Harrop hit back from the penalty spot for United early in the second half.

A strong Liverpool squad featuring first-team experience in the form of striker Danny Ings and centre-back Mamadou Sakho might have won it late on, but the former was denied from close range deep into stoppage time.

Liverpool U23 manager Michael Beale had the luxury of loading his side with plenty of first-team names, per the club's official site:

By contrast, United academy chief Warren Joyce was left to work exclusively with fledglings, including 18-year-old defender Axel Tuanzebe, per the club:

It's a result that leaves Liverpool fourth, while United have moved up a place to seventh in Division One.

Here are the full standings after Tuesday's big match:

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	Everton	7	6	0	1	16	18
2	Southampton	7	4	2	1	5	14
3	Manchester City	7	4	2	1	4	14
4	Liverpool	7	4	1	2	7	13
5	Sunderland	6	3	1	2	0	10
6	Chelsea	7	2	3	2	3	9
7	Manchester United	7	2	3	2	-5	9
8	Reading	7	3	0	4	-2	9
9	Arsenal	7	2	1	4	-7	7
10	Tottenham Hotspur	7	2	0	5	-6	6
11	Derby County	6	1	0	5	-6	3
12	Leicester City	7	0	3	4	-9	3

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	Swansea City	7	5	0	2	5	15
2	Wolverhampton Wanderers	7	4	1	2	5	13
3	West Bromwich Albion	7	4	0	3	2	12
4	West Ham United	7	3	2	2	3	11
5	Blackburn Rovers	7	3	2	2	2	11
6	Aston Villa	7	3	1	3	0	10
7	Newcastle United	7	3	1	3	-4	10
8	Fulham	7	3	0	4	0	9
9	Middlesbrough	7	2	2	3	-2	8
10	Brighton & Hove Albion	7	1	4	2	-1	7
11	Stoke City	7	2	1	4	-3	7
12	Norwich City	7	2	0	5	-7	6

For the upcoming fixtures, go to the Premier League's official site.

Recap

Liverpool took a strong reserve team to the Leigh Sports Village, one featuring plenty of experience, with Ings and Sakho ensuring the visitors stayed solid down the spine.

It was the former who continually posed the young Red Devils some troubling questions. Ings made several swift runs from wide areas through the middle and even held the ball up well whenever he moved centrally.

Yet Ings' work was being wonderfully supplemented by ample guile from midfield. Liverpool's official site detailed one move involving a sweet combination between the England striker, goalscorer Wilson and Croatian schemer Marko Grujic:

Liverpool's early fluidity caused United a few headaches early on, but it took an impudent piece of skill for the away side to eventually break the deadlock. Wilson's cute backheel provided a stylish opener the Merseyside juniors more than merited.

Liverpool's official site relayed a snap of Wilson celebrating his highlight moment:

However, as well as the visitors played, United really ought to have pegged them back when Devonte Redmond hit the bar on the eve of half-time. Generally, though, the hosts had struggled with the pace of Liverpool's passing.

Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News offered this insight into those struggles:

United needed some way to turn momentum in the second half, and they got it early on when Harrop tucked away his penalty. It came after Liverpool's Pedro Chirivella felled Scott McTominay in the box.

Frankly, Liverpool found it hard to rally themselves after conceding the equaliser. However, Grujic should have headed in just before the final 10 minutes but inexplicably directed the ball wide.

Even better chances went begging when 23-year-old Kevin Stewart failed to make a strong enough contact after Sakho headed down in the box. Then Ings saw an effort cleared off the line before a fine save from Sam Johnstone denied him.

It proved to be the last meaningful chance of a night that left both teams somewhat frustrated, although Liverpool will perhaps rue their missed opportunities more.