2016 Premier League 2: Sunday's U23 Scores, Latest Tables and Updated Schedule
Liverpool and Everton both remained on track in the race for the 2016-17 Premier League 2 title on Sunday, as both teams grabbed wins in Group 1 to maintain their spots inside the top three.
Mamadou Sakho and Ben Woodburn took care of the scoring for the Reds, who beat Reading 2-0 for their sixth win of the season. They still chase rivals Everton by three points, however, as the Toffees beat second-placed Manchester City 1-0 thanks to a goal from Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Here's a look at the latest scores:
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| Everton U23 | 1-0 | Manchester City U23 |
| Liverpool U23 | 2-0 | Reading U23 |
The current Group 1 standings:
| 1. | Everton U23 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 23:8 | 22 |
| 2. | Manchester City U23 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 18:11 | 20 |
| 3. | Liverpool U23 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 23:13 | 19 |
| 4. | Southampton U23 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 12:12 | 14 |
| 5. | Manchester United U23 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9:10 | 13 |
| 6. | Arsenal U23 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 12:14 | 13 |
| 7. | Leicester U23 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 16:17 | 12 |
| 8. | Sunderland U23 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 13:17 | 12 |
| 9. | Chelsea U23 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 14:11 | 11 |
| 10. | Reading U23 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 16:24 | 10 |
| 11. | Derby U23 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 14:23 | 8 |
| 12. | Tottenham U23 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 11:21 | 7 |
Here's a look at the upcoming schedule:
| Monday, Nov. 21 | Newcastle Utd U23 | West Brom U23 |
| Monday, Nov. 21 | Chelsea U23 | Southampton U23 |
| Monday, Nov. 21 | Aston Villa U23 | Norwich U23 |
| Monday, Nov. 21 | Manchester United U23 | Sunderland U23 |
| Monday, Nov. 21 | Swansea U23 | Brighton U23 |
| Monday, Nov. 21 | West Ham U23 | Blackburn U23 |
| Monday, Nov. 21 | Wolves U23 | Stoke City U23 |
Recap
Liverpool were expected to cruise to a win over Reading, who started the season in solid form but have been dreadful of late. The Reds fielded a strong team featuring several players with first-team experience, including Sakho, Woodburn, Tiago Ilori, Cameron Brannagan and Juanma.
The hosts dominated from the opening minute, and it was a minor miracle Reading only conceded once before half-time. It was Sakho who put away the first goal, blasting home the rebound after goalkeeper Luke Southwood made the initial save.
By that time, Brannagan had already missed an open header, and Ovie Ejaria and Brooks Lennon bombarded the Reading goal afterward, but somehow, the second goal didn't fall.
The club's Twitter account was happy with what they were seeing, though:
Reading improved to start the second half, and with Liverpool still missing a bunch of chances, the home fans grew a little worried things could end in disaster. Brannagan perhaps should have doubled the lead, and Ejaria found the crossbar with a superb effort.
Substitute Madger Gomes made the difference, picking out Woodburn. The forward fired a shot straight at the goalkeeper and saw the rebound bounce back into his feet, and he didn't miss a second time.
Liverpool's official Twitter account showed footage of the end of the match:
In Sunday's clash at the top of the table, Everton reclaimed the lead with a 1-0 win over Manchester City. Calvert-Lewin took advantage of a poor clearance to strike with a volley midway through the second half, and City couldn't fight back.
The Citizens started the match brightly but soon faltered, as they struggled dealing with the Toffees' raw physicality in midfield. Per Phil Kirkbride of the Liverpool Echo, Tom Davies was a standout for the hosts:
Paolo Fernandes Cantin fired City's best chance off the post, and Thierry Ambrose almost equalised in the dying minutes, directing an effort wide. But overall, City barely threatened the Everton goal, and the Toffees deservedly took the lead in the standings.
Manchester United, Chelsea and West Ham United will all be in action on Monday.
