Five things we learned this weekend

Hannover 96 or, as they are also referred to by some, the Aston Villa of Germany (ok, they’re not THAT bad), slumped to another defeat and look destined for relegation. The match itself wasn’t noteworthy, it was what happened afterwards that caught our eye. The Hannover ultras demanded their players hand over their kits as they were “not worthy of the badge”. Security personnel had to step in as the mood was borderline aggressive and it looks like Hannover have lost most of their support as even the most hardcore fans are unhappy with the performances. Fabian Gorsler.

Since losing to Juventus in January Roma have won every game in Serie A. Their victory at Udinese this last weekend has brought their run up to eight games as Roma look to make the third, and final, Champions League spot their own. Five points ahead of Fiorentina they are in a good position, however third is probably the best they can hope for with Napoli and Juventus too far ahead and in too good a form to be caught this late in the season. Fabian Gorsler.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic capped off Paris Saint-Germain's record-breaking title win yesterday by netting four goals in a 9-0 rout away to Troyes. PSG have secured the title with a massive eight games remaining and Ibra has since come out to say that he "will not be at PSG next season," sending Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal fans into a frenzy. Wherever Zlatan ends up in the summer, he's sure to make an instant impact. Ryan Kent.

Excitement and unpredictability, it would seem, are not the unique to the Premier League. The new MLS season is off to a flyer, with all four of last season’s conference finalists losing in this past weekend’s second round of games. Most surprising is the early form of the 2015 Supporters’ Shield winners, New York Red Bulls. Jesse Marsh’s side, who impressed last year with their possession and pressing have failed to score in defeats to Toronto and Montreal. With virtually the same squad as last season, the Red Bulls look mistake-prone at the back and void of ideas up front. New York fans should not worry too much, however; the last time they lost their two opening games (in 2012) the team still reached the conference semi-finals. Daniel Issroff.

The story of the FA Cup this weekend was not so much a triumph of Davids over Goliaths, if only because neither Davids nor Goliaths seem to exist in English football this season. We can speculate on the reasons (the influx of cash, the relative strength of top sides on the continent), but it’s clear that the Premier League has been a model of parity in 2015-2016. The “bad” teams are not that bad (Aston Villa apart) and the “good” teams are certainly not very good. Everton and Watford’s victories over Chelsea and Arsenal, respectively, confirm that the pattern we have seen in the league is no fluke. Even fans of the traditional bigger clubs would have to admit that such competitive balance has made this the most exciting season in years. Daniel Issroff.