Cagliari striker Victor IbarboCagliari striker Victor Ibarbo was at his clinical best as he tops our European Team of the Week.
The Colombian target man, 22, hit a hat-trick in the 3-1 win over Samdoria, using his pace and size to great effect as he single-handedly dismantled the Genoese club.
Renowned for his searing speed, his first was a tap in after Albin Ekdal’s finish was spilled by the Samp keeper.
Preferring to run inside from the flanks, Ibarbo continued to torment the visitors – almost swinging a cross-shot in before half-time – before adding a second with a rasping finish at a corner.
Standing at 6'3", Ibarbo completed the hat-trick with a trademark booming far-post header, which meant he scored with all three of his efforts on target.
Ibarbo is joined by another Italian-based target man as Parma veteran Amauri also bagged a treble in the 4-1 victory over Torino.
Otherwise there are three Barcelona defenders in our XI following the 2-0 win over Deportivo la Coruna, while Premier League players are largely absent after a weekend dominated by the FA Cup.
And just to prove we don’t solely include players from Europe’s so-called ‘big four’ leagues, Kuban Krasnodar’s Turkish-born, Dutch-raised Armenia winger Aras Ozbiliz gets a nod after his goal and assist helped the Russian Premier League side beat Volga 2-0 away.
You can view Opta's key stats for each of the players in our XI at the bottom of the page.
European Team of the Week: March 8-10
Stats: March 8-10
