Premier League Winners and Losers: The Title Race, Mario Balotelli, and More

The Premier League table is slowly but surely starting to look cemented—and this weekend certainly helped.

It was a gameweek that we can take some serious conclusions from, with plenty of winners and losers as well.

Without further ado, here are the Premier League winners and losers from gameweek 32.

Winner: Papiss Cisse

Papiss Cisse is currently the most in-form forward in the league, and as I write this the Newcastle forward bagged his 10th goal for the Tyneside club after just joining them in January.

The Senegalese international simply can't stop scoring at the moment, and has arguably been the reason behind Newcastle's excellent form recently.

The Magpies are now level on points with fourth-placed Spurs, and if they continue this kind of form, a Champions League spot is certainly achievable. 

Winner: Nikica Jelavic

With Papiss Cisse getting all of the praise for the best January transfer window signing, Nikica Jelavic has flown under the radar.

Has Jelavic been as impressive as Cisse? No, but his four goals in eight appearances prove that he's taken little time to adjust to the Premier League, and is another mastermind David Moyes signing. 

Everton may have just found the clinical striker that they need to help them push for a place in Europe in seasons to come.  

Winner: Clint Dempsey

As you can see, there were a number of players that shone this weekend.

Clint Dempsey was one of them, as his brace against Bolton including a sublime free kick kept him on the radar of several big clubs hunting his signature this summer. The American international is the top-scoring midfielder in the league with 15 goals to his name, and 21 goals so far this season in all competitions.

Fulham have had a good season, but with the numbers Dempsey is putting up, he may be too big for Craven Cottage.

Winner: Arsenal

Arsenal grabbed a sweet victory over Manchester City at the Emirates after a late Mikel Arteta strike saw the Gunners win 1-0.

Arsene Wenger's men dominated long periods of this match, with over 64 percent possession and coming close to scoring a number of times before finally breaking the deadlock through Arteta.

This win puts the Gunners in the driving seat to finish third place, as they now find themselves two points above Spurs with a match in hand.

This victory had a sense of revenge for Arsenal, as they beat the club that has tended to steal some of their best players in recent seasons, and on top of that, they sank Samir Nasri's hopes of winning a title in his first season at Manchester City.

Winner: Manchester United

Manchester United's controversial 2-0 win over Queens Park Rangers saw their incredible run of form continue, and I don't see any match remaining in the season that the Red Devils won't win—including the Manchester derby at Etihad Stadium.

Sir Alex Ferguson's men just have the experience and ability to crank out the results they need to win titles, year in and year out. Even when they don't play particularly well or don't have the best squad in the league, United somehow find a way to compete for titles.

And usually, they win them.

This could very well have been the weekend that Manchester United won their 20th title (we'll get to that in a second), so hats off to United—and that's coming from an Arsenal fan.

Loser: The Title Race

With Manchester United's win over QPR and Manchester City's loss to Arsenal, City are now trailing United by eight points.

That makes the title race much less interesting. Even if City do somehow beat United in the upcoming Manchester derby, which is quite unlikely, the Citizens will still be behind by five points.

The title race could have been one of the most exciting yet, but it's now looking like Manchester United will soon clinch their 20th Premier League title.

Thanks a lot, Manchester City.

Loser: Liverpool

Liverpool are an absolute mess.

Who cares if they won the League Cup? Any hopes of Champions League football—erm, Europa League football—have gone completely down the drain, and they've even slipped behind Merseyside rivals Everton.

At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if they fell further down the table behind the likes of Norwich and Fulham.

I've got plenty of opinions about Liverpool. Firstly, Kenny Dalglish is the worst manager of the season. He's put to shame by gaffers like David Moyes and even Alan Pardew, who operate their clubs on a fraction of Daglish's budget. If the Reds want any hope of making a push for Europe next season, they have to forget about Dalglish's legacy and sack him in the summer.

No more ranting, but my point is that Liverpool are currently the epitome of a bad football club. Harsh? They need to hear the truth.

Loser: Manchester City

Manchester City's title challenge crumbled on Sunday, as they comprehensively lost 1-0 to Arsenal, bowing out of the title race without the glimpse of a fight.

Despite a star-studded squad, it looks like the Blues have a lot to do in the summer—but sacking Roberto Mancini is not one of those things. He shouldn't be to blame for City's troubles. Rather, the egos of the players in the dressing room are to blame.

Mancini is a world-class manager experienced in winning trophies, and is the right man for the job of bringing glory to the Etihad Stadium.

Loser: Mario Balotelli

As Mario Balotelli was sent off at the Emirates on Sunday; there was a sense of finality.

That's because his career at Manchester City is finished. Roberto Mancini has suggested that he won't play Balotelli for the rest of the season, and that he'll probably sell the unpredictable forward in the summer.

The sad thing is that Balotelli is extremely talented and, at 21 years old, is still one of the best young players in the world. I just hope he shapes up his act and doesn't waste his talent.

Loser: Referees

This weekend saw a number of refereeing blunders to intensify the need for more than just goal-line technology in football.

Firstly, there was Ivanovic's goal against Wigan that was miles offsides and blatantly should have been disallowed. If Roberto Martinez's men get relegated because of this decision, it will be a disgrace.

Then there was the penalty given for Manchester United against QPR, when Ashley Young took a dive in the box to get Shaun Derry sent off. On top of that, Ashley Young was offsides in the first place.

Why doesn't football just have replay technology, like every other sport? It's turning out to be one of the beautiful game's crucial flaws.