League games is back in full flow after the festive and its spoils are finally cleared from the air. The second part of the season is on and reality is dawning on plenty of the teams in the topflight.

Contenders are leaving behind the pretenders while the relegation candidates are embracing their battle for survival.

During the weekend, players took to the pitch again, and we've selected five of the best, each from Europe's top five leagues, who have put in convincing displays to earn themselves places in our nomination.

From the mesmerizing Justin Kluivert to the unusual heroes, here are the five players, each representing the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga and the Ligue 1.

Top Performers of the Weekend 

Premier League: Justin Kluivert of Bournemouth

Hat-trick hero on a ground which was home to his dad 20 years ago, Justin Kluivert ended Newcastle United's winning run with a sensation performance as his Bournemouth side stormed to a 4-1 win Saint James' Park.

Kluivert, who made history in November by becoming the first in Premier League history to score a hat-trick of penalties in a single game was keen to make an impression against his Dad's former employer.

His moment began in the sixth minute, when he fired home and Antoine Semenyo's cut back into the far corner. He then scored moments before the interval, restoring the visitors lead with a well taken finish, after being teed up by Dango Outtara.

The 25-year-old completed his hat-trick two minutes into added time to kill off any hopes of a Newcastle comeback, becoming the fourth Dutchman to score multiple penalties in Premier League history, after Ruud van Nistelrooy (5), Robin van Persie (5) and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (4).

Kluivert assisted Milos Kerkez for the fourth as it finished 4-1 to the visitors, ending Newcastle's nine game winning run while setting a new record of their own, reaching ten Premier League games unbeaten for the first time ever.

With eleven goals across all competitions for Bournemouth this season, he equals his most productive campaign which came while he was with Ajax in the 2017/18 season, while he reaches 20 Bournemouth goals, 11 of which have come in 23 games this season.

His season is only bound to get better, and he can for now look back and enjoy just how good it has been.

LaLiga: Kike Garcia of Deportivo Alaves 

The 35-year-old striker continued his fine form during the weekend with a stupendous hat-trick in Benito Villamarin to help Alaves to their second away win in LaLiga this season.

Garcia gave the visitors an early from the spot, after he drew a foul off Marc Bartra in the penalty area. He managed to guide his effort past goalkeeper Adrian, who got a hand to it but not enough to prevent a goal.

He would not get his second of the day until ten minutes to the end of the game when a cross into the area finds Carlos Vicente. The winger, under pressure from Betis defence managed to get a lucky touch that sends the ball into the path of Garcia, who fired a first time left footed shot into the back of the net.

Four minutes later, Garcia completed a perfect hat-trick, heading home a Carlos Vicente's cross from the right to finally seal the three points against the 10 men of Betis.

The victory moves Deportivo Alaves out of the relegation zone while Kike Garcia reaches double figures of goals for the club this season, seven of which have come in his last six games.

The veteran striker is now two goals away from equaling his most productive campaign for a topflight team, 12 goals for Eibar in 2020/21 season.

He finishes ahead of Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe, who bagged an impressive brace in a 4-1 comeback win against Las Palmas, which sends them to the top of LaLiga.

Serie A: Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa of Napoli 

The Cameroonian international was the most decisive player in the top of the table clash between Napoli and Atalanta, helping Antonio Conte's side to an impressive comeback win with two assists in Bergamo.

In a fixture they suffered at 3-0 home defeat in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, the visitors where given plenty of reasons to worry about their status as league leaders after they conceded the opening goal of the game to Mateo Retegui.

However, the playmaking skills of Anguissa reassured the traveling fans, as he teed up Scott McTominay in the 40th minuye to fire them ahead for the first time in the game, after Matteo Politano had drawn them level three minutes before the half hour.

Ademola Lookman restored parity for Atalanta with a brilliant solo goal five minutes before the hour mark, but it was Napoli who took all three points as Anguissa got his second assist of the day with 20 minutes left on the clock.

The midfielder drove the ball to the left before sending an inviting cross into the penalty area for Romelo Lukaku to head home the winning goal of the game, handling all three points to Conte's men and keeping their place at the top of the table.

Anguissa, who is just one of the few remaining members of Napoli's Scudetto winning campaign has now contributed to seven goals in 21 Serie A games this season, and has been selected as our mosg standout performer in the Italian topflight this weekend.

Bundesliga: Myron Boadu of Bochum

Myron Boadu bagged a scintillating second half hat-trick for Bochum as they come from 3-0 down to rescue a point at home to RB Leipzig, continuing their turnaround following an horrendous start to the season.

The Dutchman has had a rather passive start to his time at Bochum since completing a season long loan move from AS Monaco in the summer due to a hip injury, which kept him out of action for two months.

Prior to his hat-trick during the weekend, Boadu has two goals and one assist in 470 Bundesliga minutes cut across seven games. However, he did far better, much more than expected to help his side avoid and embarrassing result, which could have affected their brewing momentum.

Leipzig took at 3-0 lead into the halftime break as goals from Willi Orban, Antonio Nusa and Christopher Baumgartner gave Marco Rose's charge a deserved cushion, although, more drama would unfold after the interval.

The visitors started to shoot themselves in the foot at the start of the second half. A poor defensive pass allowed Gerrit Holtmann steal possession before teeing up Boadu for 3-1 three minutes after the restart.

Leipzig defense again succumbed to pressure four minutes from the hour mark, failing to deal with a long throw into their penalty box. The ball eventually fell to Boadu, and he needed a simple touch to get it past Gulacsi for 3-2.

Leipzig's woes was compounded a few minutes later as they gave away a penalty from another long throw. Boadu stepped up to slot home, as Bochum scored 3+ goals in a single Bundesliga game since May 2024.

Although they didn't get the three points, the optimistic end to the game and the point earned given the circumstances give reasons for celebration. They'll hope to continue their form when they travel to Gladbach on the next matchday, and hope Myron Boadu continues to build on his latest performance.

Ligue 1: Mousa Tamari of Montpellier 

A weekend for fringe players sees Jordan forward Mousa Tamari pick up the player of the weekend in the Ligue 1 thanks to his decisive brace to seal a 2-1 comeback win for Montpellier against Monaco.

The 27-year-old had just one assists to show for 13 games so far this season, but out of the blue, he became the hero against Monaco on Friday night, inspiring Montpellier to their first win against the visitors since April 2023.

The host, who had not won a game since a 3-1 home win over Brest in November, fell behind two minutes after the half hour, with German defender Thilo Kehrer heading home a Lamine Camara corner.

Five minutes before the hour mark, Tamari pounced on a poor back pass by Kassoum Outtara, rounded the goalkeeper and slot into an empty net to restore parity with his first club goal of the season.

It got more interesting later in the game as Monaco lost possession in the middle of the park. The host surged forward for a winner and were duly rewarded as Arnaud Nordin set up Tamari to complete his brace with the winner.

Moussa Tamari almost completed a hat-trick but missed a glorious chance before his withdrawal. Thankfully, his brace was enough to earn Montpellier their third league win of the season, one that gives them hope survival, albeit they remain bottom of the standing.

Ultimate Player of the Week

There were three hat-trick scorers during the weekend but the one that topples them all is Bournemouth's Justin Kluivert, as all his goals came from open play, won the Cherries a very tough fixture and added another assist.