Premier League Winners and Losers of Gameweek 8

Although gameweek eight of the English Premier League saw some pretty predictable results, it was an entertaining 48 hours nonetheless.

Manchester United and Liverpool faced off at Anfield for what's arguably the most famous match-up in England, and the two played out a sloppy 1-1 draw. Manchester City went top of the table, a two point lead that could either last for months or for just a week until the Manchester derby next Sunday. 

On the other side of the table, the West Midlands derby between Wolves and West Brom saw the Baggies walk away with a comprehensive 2-0 victory. Newcomers Swansea and Norwich played out an entertaining 90 minutes which saw the Canaries grab a 3-1 win at home.

Enough summary though, here are the Premier League winners and losers of this week.

Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)

Of all the midfield talent Liverpool possess, it was really a no-brainer for Kenny Dalgish to start Gerrard against Manchester United.

The 31-year-old is Liverpool through and through—he's never, ever been at any other football club, having been a Red since 1998 with his youth career at Liverpool going all the way back to 1987. So if Tony Adams is called "Mr. Arsenal," then Steven Gerrard's got to be "Mr. Liverpool." 

In a time where the English Premier League has so many foreign players that most barely even know the history behind their clubs' derbies, Gerrard is a man that clearly added some steel to the young and foreign Liverpool side. Showing them the importance of this fixture between two of England's most elite, the midfielder was arguably the Reds' best performer on Saturday, scoring their only goal from a freekick.

Sure, it wasn't Gerrard's best set-piece by a longshot, but he got the job done and put in a solid performance. 

This is a man you've just got to respect, Liverpool supporter or not.

Winner: Mario Balotelli

With Sergio Aguero injured and Carlos Tevez out of the picture, Mario Balotelli is now hitting the best form of his career so far.

Roberto Mancini struggled to get the fellow Italian to play his best football for Manchester City last season after a number of shenanigans by Balotelli, but it now seems that the 21-year-old is finally proving himself as a player who's taking advantage of his talent rather than wasting it.

Balotelli's scored three goals so far this season, all taking place in the last three matches. His most spectacular was undoubtedly the overhead strike against Aston Villa this weekend; the main reason why he's down as a winner on this list.

Let's hope the youngster finally starts to focus on his football, and if he does, he really could be one of the best in the world some day.

Winner: Robin Van Persie

What a day for Robin Van Persie.

The Dutchman single handedly gave Arsenal their three points on Sunday, scoring two goals in a 2-1 victory over Sunderland. The first goal was after just 29 seconds of play, an excellent strike from the outside of the box after a square pass from Gervinho.

But when former Gunner Sebastian Larsson scored a magnificent free kick before half time, it was looking like another one of those days for Arsenal fans. However, Van Persie saved the day after hitting a lovely free kick of his own to win it for the Gunners in front of the home fans.

The Dutchman hasn't scored one of his trademark free kicks in quite a while, and to make the day even better for Arsenal fans he confirmed his commitment to the club after the match.

Winner: Bolton Wanderers

Everyone around the Reebok Stadium enjoyed a sigh of relief after finally grabbing three points in a 3-1 win over Wigan Athletic.

Bolton haven't gotten a win since the first day of the season, losing every single one of their matches after that 4-0 victory over QPR. 

After a quite horrendous start to the season, the Wanderers could finally be back on track as their next few fixtures should see them start to pick up some points.

Winner: Referees

Two derbies, zero controversial decisions.

Finally, a win for the referees. 

But really, don't expect it to happen again any time soon.

Loser: Ryan Giggs

Alright, this one might be a bit harsh; but Giggs was clearly at fault for Liverpool's goal after what seemed to be a lapse in concentration when he stepped out of the Manchester United wall. The Englishman's strange error meant fellow England oldie Steven Gerrard's free kick went right through the wall and past David De Gea.

Although it wasn't a devastating error, it was something well below Giggs' standard of play, and overall the aging 37-year-old's performance was not his sharpest. 

Loser: Aston Villa

Aston Villa's lengthy unbeaten streak came to a halt after falling 4-1 to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

We all knew it wouldn't last forever, and with this clash looming it seemed like it was bound to end. Although the unbeaten run consisted of mostly draws, the streak was ended pretty harshly after letting City put four goals past them, including a Mario Balotelli overhead kick as mentioned before.

Nonetheless, it's been a good start to the season for Aston Villa under new manager Alex Mccleish, putting them in eight place with a healthy eleven points.