Fernando Torres has fought off strong competition to clinch his spot as the weekend's biggest winner following a brilliant hat-trick against Middlesbrough.

WINNERS

Fernando Torres

Popular convention would have it that players coming into a new league where they do not know the game or speak the language need a season to find their feet before they can reach top form. If that is the case, then Torres will probably break Dixie Dean's scoring record next season. The Spaniard's brilliant hat-trick against Boro took his tally for the year to 21 - just a shame the rest of the team can't cut it.

Tottenham Hotspur

Yes, it's only a minor cup and no, it doesn't automatically make Spurs a force in the English game. But Tottenham should be allowed to enjoy their Carling Cup victory after an extremely impressive performance. It was also good for the competition to be won by a team that truly wanted it. Chelsea would have just wished they were lifting the Champions League trophy or FA Cup.

Benni McCarthy

Last year's Fernando Torres has endured a rotten season; getting completely eclipsed by Roque Santa Cruz and at one point going 10 games without a goal. So it was pleasing to see the South African convert a brace of penalties in the Lancashire derby against Bolton. He scored the second in spite of some vigorous sledging and, inevitably, spitting from El-Hadji Diouf.

The form book

Every Premier League game except one was won by the favourites, as Manchester United, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Blackburn, West Ham and Wigan picked up maximum points while five of the bottom six were beaten. The only exception came at St Andrew's, where 10-man Birmingham snatched a late draw against Arsenal in a game overshadowed by the broken leg suffered by Eduardo.

LOSERS

Arsenal

It was a truly rotten weekend for the Gunners, with Eduardo's injury and James McFadden's 95th-minute equaliser for Birmingham. To cap it all off, William Gallas's tantrum at the end of the game was hardly the kind of leadership you look for from a captain. Add that to Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Bendtner's recent bust-up and you have every indication of dressing-room unrest.

Avram Grant

The Israeli has exceeded expectation since taking over from Jose Mourinho but won few fans at the Carling Cup final. His decision to play Nicolas Anelka on the wing backfired and he waited far too long before bringing on Joe Cole. Even worse was the complete absence of a team talk during extra time (John Terry did the honours). Grant was outfoxed and his side deserved to lose.

Kevin Keegan

Another game, another embarrassing defeat. The most depressing thing for Newcastle fans is that nobody was even that upset after conceding five goals at home - it was entirely predictable. Those few remaining non-grey hairs on Keegan's head have their days numbered. The fans might not turn against him in any vocal sense, but there were an awful lot of people leaving early on Saturday.

Reading

There is a lot of competition for relegation places, with eight teams looking potentially bad enough to join Derby in the Championship next season. But eight defeats on the bounce makes Steve Coppell's side very vulnerable indeed. They have the most useless defence in the division - leakier even than the Rams - and they need to sort themselves out quick or face dire consequences.

Alex Chick / Eurosport