PARIS, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Lille and Montpellier missed their chances of climbing to the second position after failing to win their respective matches, while French international Florian Thauvin shone with a hat-trick in Marseille's 3-1 road victory over Amiens in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Lille suffered a 2-0 loss at Nice. Montpellier recorded a 2-2 home draw with Rennes. Snatching 26 points from 14 matches, Montpellier and Lille sit third and fourth respectively, both one point adrift Lyon.
Italian striker Mario Balotelli, scoreless in the league for Nice this season, released teammate Wylan Cyprien to comfortably lift a shot past goalkeeper Mike Maignan in the 25th minute.
Nice sealed their fourth straight league victory with 11 minutes from time, as Allan Saint-Maximin's powerful shot deflected off Yves Dabila into the net.
Hatem Ben Arfa saw his 25-yard shot richochet off Pedro Mendes to earn Rennes a 1-0 lead as early as five minutes into the match.
Andy Delort tied the score for Montpellier just before the break with an easy finish after goalkeeper Tomas Koubek failed to clear Damien Le Tallec's strike.
Delort added another four minutes after the restart. He latched onto attacking partner Gaetan Laborde's cross to sweep home from close range for his seventh goal of the season.
However, Montpellier had to settle for one point due to substitute Paul Lasne's foul on Ismaila Sarr inside the box. Benjamin Bourigeaud stepped up to convert the penalty in the 71st minute.
It was a heroic night for the World Cup winner Thauvin. Marseille found themselves 1-0 down in the eighth minute. Their veteran goalkeeper Steve Mandanda failed to parry Juan Otero's pass, only to allow Bakaye Dibassy on position to slot the ball into an empty net.
Despite missing a header in the 17th minute, Thauvin managed to drag Marseille on the same scoreline nine minutes later. He cut in from the right before unleashing a shot from 20 meters past goalkeeper Regis Gurtner.
The visitors gradually improved their offense and controlled the tempo in the second half. After substitute Valere Germain hit the crossbar with a header, Thauvin fired a spectacular free-kick into top corner of the goal in the 80th minute.
Although captain Dimitri Payet failed to convert the spot kick that he had created, Marseille still secured three points as Thauvin capped his brilliant night with a low shot in a counter-attack in stoppage time.
Thauvin's solo lifted Marseille to fifth, trailing Montpellier and Lille by just one point.
PSG extended their winning streak to 14 matches to start the campaign after edging Toulouse 1-0 on Saturday.
Thierry Henry also registered his first win in charge of Monaco with a hard-fought 1-0 road victory over Caen.
