karlpejera: Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend

Will Mario Balotelli's absence win City the league, Clint Dempsey's brilliance and the difference a minute makes

1) Mario Balotelli's absence may have won the title for City

Mario Balotelli's feckless, reckless and chaotic performance against Arsenal in April was the culmination of a period in which Manchester City had let a five-point league lead become an eight-point deficit in just over a month. By the end of the 1-0 defeat at the Emirates, the Italian, steam erupting kettle-like from his ears after the most hot-headed of performances, was sat in the dressing room having received his marching orders in the final minute of normal time. He was lucky to have lasted that long. By coincidence, just five minutes earlier, Carlos Tevez had returned from his farcical City exile to make a short cameo. The brief minutes the pair shared on the pitch were the moments in which, arguably, City's season swung back from potential disaster to potential triumph.

Balotelli's subsequent ban forced Roberto Mancini's hand ? he had to put Tevez back in the side despite all the disruption he has caused earlier in the season. Since that day, the Argentinian has played all of City's five matches. They have won them all and Tevez has scored four. It was telling on Sunday that, with Balotelli available once again, he was not even in the squad, apparently for "tactical" reasons. The tactics appear to have worked. With the Italian nowhere near the side, City won again to both put a hand on the title and cast Balotelli's future into doubt.

Meanwhile, on Sunday it was Yaya Tour� who once again scored the vital goals. It means the midfielder has now arguably scored the four most important goals in the club's recent history ? the two today, the FA Cup-winning goal in 2011, and the FA Cup semi-final-winning goal against United that put them in the final in the first place. TB

2) Does anyone want Champions League football?

Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur or Newcastle United could have made a firm grab to secure Champions League football for next season. Not a single one of them took the opportunity. Arsenal drew at home with Norwich City, Tottenham somehow failed to beat a woeful Aston Villa side and Newcastle went down 2-0 to City. It means, inconceivably, Chelsea can still mathematically claim fourth spot, and either Spurs or Newcastle could pip Arsenal to third. Are the two remaining Champions League spots going to be settled by the team that chokes the least? TB

3) Clint Dempsey should be on a lot of summer shopping lists

Against Sunderland, Clint Dempsey thumped home his 17th league goal this season, his 23rd in all competitions. Quietly, he has gone about his business, breaking Louis Saha's league scoring record for Fulham (which stood at 15) along the way. More impressive is that he has not been the club's main attacking force. Frequently, he has operated out wide, supporting the likes of Bobby Zamora (before his move to QPR), Andy Johnson or Pavel Pogrebnyak. It is a versatility that has made him an attractive proposition to many bigger clubs, and Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal have all been mentioned.

Dempsey, for his part, appears to be a man capable of handling the big games too: a goal in each of the derbies against Chelsea; a hat-trick in the 5-2 win over Newcastle; the winner against Liverpool in December ? all big goals in games from which Fulham were not necessarily expected to profit. It is little surprise he was voted fourth in the Football Writer's Association Footballer of the Year poll, ahead of the likes of David Silva, Gareth Bale and other bigger names. Fulham will be desperate to keep hold of him this summer; there will be plenty of suitors who hope they do not manage it. TB

4) Staying up is not something Aston Villa fans should be celebrating

One of the great joys of the league format is that surviving relegation is so often celebrated like a championship trophy. Despite a creditable 1-1 draw with Spurs, there was no such jubilation at Villa Park. Perhaps the overwhelming emotion was simple, inglorious relief, as the home side secured their Premier League status, barring a mathematical miracle. The sense of a narrow escape is borne out by the statistics: Villa were dominated, scraping 37% possession, and creating four chances to Spurs' 22.

Despite the footballing gods apparently being with their team today, Villa capitulated. With Spurs reduced to 10 men, Richard Dunne's needless challenge gave Spurs an easy route back into the game, following Ciaran Clark's fortunate opener. Villa have now dropped 22 points from winning positions this season. Had they never relinquished a lead, Alex McLeish's side would be one point behind Chelsea. If that were the case, furiously daubed banners would be in short supply in the Holte End.

The reality is that Villa have scored fewer than all but Stoke, and have won fewer games than doomed Blackburn. It is possible they will fail to reach 40 points, surviving only by others' shortcomings. McLeish has been fighting an uphill battle since his move across the second city, yet he has done little to stem the tide of ill feeling. He has introduced several young, promising players, yet they have transferred from a vibrant, successful youth team to a dispirited first XI that is ritualistically set up simply to avoid defeat.

One protest sign unveiled at full time summed the fans' feelings up: "It's not where you came from, it's where you're taking us." For now at least, the destination seems to be nowhere, rather than down. There may be hope for renewal somewhere amidst the frustration and recriminations, but McLeish seems the wrong man to lead the recovery. NM

5) Sixty seconds that could shape two seasons

What a difference a minute makes. With 89 minutes on the clock at both the Reebok Stadium and Loftus Road, Bolton were beating West Bromwich and a dour QPR were drawing with Stoke City. As it stood in that moment, the London side remained in the relegation zone, with Owen Coyle's team outside it and sitting on a potential two-point cushion. "Staying up!" sang the Bolton Wanderers crowd, filled with optimism after having gone 2-0 up midway through the second half.

And then suddenly in London, Djibril Ciss�, on from the QPR bench and lurking at Stoke's back post, tapped home. Just as suddenly, in Bolton, James Morrison tucked one in for West Bromwich, to add to Chris Brunt's 75th-minute effort for the visitors. In the space of 60-or-so seconds, QPR leapfrogged Wigan Athletic to go 16th while Bolton went back down to 18th, sickened. For QPR fans it means nervous, cautious optimism; for Bolton's grim, jittery worry and for Blackburn ? wedged down in 19th, four points adrift but with a game in hand ? it means things look ominous indeed. TB

Tom Bryant

Niall McVeigh