Team of the Week: Barcelona stars lead the line, Xavi Simons returns in style

Xavi Simons is back for RB Leipzig
Xavi Simons is back for RB LeipzigČTK / imago sportfotodienst / Michael Taeger / Flashscore
The Bundesliga returned over the weekend after its winter break while the Premier League paused for the FA Cup. It's time to catch up on which players stood out across the world's best leagues and competitions with our latest Team of the Week!

As always, we have used our internal rating system to pick the side. Here are the 11 players that made the cut this time around:

The latest Team of the Week
The latest Team of the WeekFlashscore

Goalkeeper

Fabian de Keijzer (Heracles) 8.8

Heracles claimed a valuable point in their fight to stay in the Eredivisie with a 1-1 draw against fellow relegation battlers Sparta Rotterdam, but they wouldn't have if not for their goalkeeper. 

Fabian de Keijzer made 11 saves during the course of the match, causing Sparta to score just one goal despite racking up 2.87 xG.

Defence

Pedro Malheiro (Trabzonspor) 9.8

There are three hat-trick heroes in our latest Team of the Week but even more remarkable than that is the fact that one of them is a defender!

Trabzonspor right-back Pedro Malheiro scored three of his side's goals in their 5-0 win over Antalyaspor and two of them were lovely strikes from the edge of the box too. Give this man a chance up top!

Frederic Guilbert (Lecce) 8.6

Lecce put some distance between themselves and the bottom of Serie A with a 3-1 win over Empoli, and one of their standout players was Frederic Guilbert.

The defender was a rock at the back, making 16 clearances, six interceptions and four tackles while winning seven duels with opponents in total.

Deiver Machado (Lens) 8.7

Left-back Deiver Machado bagged his first goal of the season in Lens' 2-1 win away to Le Havre that kept them in with a chance of a top-four finish. 

The Colombian bagged what proved to be the winner with a close-range header in the 77th minute and also created two big chances for teammates.

Midfield

Edin Visca (Trabzonspor) 8.8

It may not have been the kind that would've earned him the match-ball but Edin Visca produced a crucial hat-trick nonetheless at the weekend, getting three assists.

Two of those assists for Malheiro - a gorgeous cross from deep and a clever through ball - were two of the best you'll see this season.

Sem Steijn (Twente) 8.8

FC Twente midfielder Sem Steijn is emerging as the standout player of the Eredivisie season with the 23-year-old scoring a hat-trick against Willem II to take his tally for the league season to 15 goals in 17 games.

It was a real poacher's performance from the number 10 with him scoring with a cool one-on-one finish, a header at the back post and a penalty. The Dutchman is a killer in front of goal.

Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig) 9.7

After being out since late October with an injury, Xavi Simons returned with a bang for RB Leipzig at the weekend with the Dutchman scoring two of his side's four goals against Werder Bremen.

Both were excellent finishes from just inside the box and the second was particularly impressive, coming at the end of a run which saw him beat two players.

Baris Alper Yilmaz (Galatasaray) 8.8

Galatasaray winger Baris Alper Yilmaz put Basaksehir to the sword with two goals in his side's hard-fought 2-1 win away from home.

Both goals were scored with powerful left-footed driven finishes across the ground, and he also made three key passes that could have easily created further goals. 

Forwards

Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) 8.8

How good was Lamine Yamal in the Super Cup final against Real Madrid? Well, at the end of it, people all over the internet were comparing him to Lionel Messi, which says it all. 

The 17-year-old drew his team level with the type of goal that the Argentine scored so many times for Barcelona and he remained a handful for the Real Madrid defence after that as his side romped to a 5-2 win.

Jakob Breum (Go Ahead Eagles) 9.3

The last of our three Eredivisie representatives this week is Danish talent Jakob Breum, who took his already excellent season to another level against Fortuna Sittard.

The 21-year-old scored the first hat-trick of his senior career in a 3-0 win and he now has seven goals and five assists in 18 league games. It won't be long before he begins to catch the eye of bigger clubs.

Raphinha (Barcelona) 8.8

Not content with tearing Real Madrid apart once this season, Raphinha went and did so again in the Super Cup final with two goals and an assist on a night where he turned Los Blancos inside out time and time again.

The Brazilian has firmly established himself as Barcelona's star man since Hansi Flick took over and there are even murmurs of the playmaker winning this year's Ballon d'Or.