Amine Gouiri's hat-trick helped Olympique de Marseille to a 4-1 win at mid-table Stade Brestois 29 to move back into second place in Ligue 1, although Roberto De Zerbi's side have now gone seven games without keeping a clean sheet.

Brest had a golden opportunity to take the lead barely a minute into the game when Mathias Pereira Lage's flick-on found Abdallah Sima, who raced clear but his close-range shot was saved by Geronimo Rulli.

However, Marseille quickly settled into the contest and took the lead on eight minutes when Luiz Henrique's superb through ball found Gouiri in space, the former Nice attacker steadying himself before slotting past Gregoire Coudert into the far corner.

For much of the first half, L'OM were in control without threatening to double their advantage, and they were eventually punished for their lack of attacking intensity when Kenny Lala's cross bounced off Adrien Rabiot and out for an unexpected corner.

Visiting skipper Jeremy Chardonnet then tipped Pereira Lage's follow-up against the crossbar, and Ludovic Ajorque's shot was blocked by Rulli before Sima made amends for his earlier error by pouncing on the rebound.

The Stade Velodrome faithful were on their feet again on 37 minutes, however, when a free-kick involving Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rabiot found Mason Greenwood, who cut inside on his right foot and beat Chardonnet from 25 yards.

And Marseille got even better on the stroke of half-time when Greenwood was again the provider, lofted a cross into the path of Gouiri, who rose to meet it and unleashed a stunning overhead kick.

The second half began much more subdued, but Marseille put the result beyond doubt on 63 minutes when Gouiri beat the offside trap to finish off Rabiot's through-ball and complete his treble - a goal that was eventually confirmed by VAR after initially being denied by the linesman's flag.

Gouiri soon left the pitch to a standing ovation as he was replaced by Jonathan Rowe, and De Zerbi's men cruised to victory despite some defensive sloppiness to move two points clear of third-placed Lille.

Lille are Marseille's next opponents next Sunday as the battle for a top-three finish and automatic qualification to next season's UEFA Champions League heats up, while Brest host already relegated Montpellier on the same day as they look to avoid back-to-back home defeats in Ligue 1 for the first time in more than two years.