Winger Andre Ayew scored a hat trick and his younger brother Jordan Ayew got the other goal Wednesday as defending champion Marseille beat Nice 4-2 to move one point ahead of Lille at the top of the French league.
Andre Ayew put Marseille ahead in the 30th minute before Abdou Traore made it 1-1 in the 42nd. On the hour mark, Andre slid in to convert a cross from his younger brother, who pounced in the 78th to extend Marseille's lead.
Andre completed his first career hat trick in the 90th, before Renato Civelli scored a consolation.
''It's great for the Ayew brothers. We were a bit more used to Andre doing this, he has a lot of quality and still has that hunger,'' Marseille coach Didier Deschamps said. ''Jordan is younger but showed tonight that he has ability.''
Deschamps thought the score flattered his team, however.
''It was the kind of game where there were chances all over the place,'' Deschamps said. ''It wasn't all perfect but it's not often that we score four. After the efforts we put in during Saturday's final, I thought it would be a bit tough.''
In Wednesday's other match, France playmaker Yoann Gourcuff came off the bench to score Lyon's 90th-minute winner in a 3-2 home win over Montpellier that keeps alive the seven-time former champion's title hopes.
Lyon is five points behind Marseille in third place with six matches remaining.
The matches were rescheduled because of last weekend's League Cup final, which Marseille won 1-0 against Montpellier.
Having successfully retained the League Cup, Deschamps' team is now on course for another double.
Marseille is peaking at the right time - just like last season - while Lille is slipping up with just two points from its last three league games.
''We had to win at all costs tonight. It was really hard for us in the first half,'' Andre Ayew said. ''We have our destiny in our own hands now and we will have to win all our remaining matches, starting with Auxerre (on Sunday).''
With striker Loic Remy suspended, Deschamps played winger Mathieu Valbuena as a makeshift forward at Stade Velodrome, with Andre-Pierre Gignac and Andre Ayew either side of him.
Playmaker Lucho Gonazalez was on the bench after a poor run of form, and replaced in midfield by Fabrice Abriel.
Marseille opened the scoring after a glaring error from Nice goalkeeper David Ospina, who claimed Valbuena's corner from the left but then dropped the ball, and the 21-year-old Andre Ayew punished him.
Nice leveled close to halftime when Traore profited from a mix-up in Marseille's defense. Charles Kabore headed away a corner, but the ball bounced off fellow defender Souleymane Diawara's back and Traore made it 1-1.
Jordan, the younger of the Ayew brothers at 19, came off the bench to make it 3-1 when he easily beat Ospina, after Nice's defense failed to clear right-back Rod Fanni's cross.
''I came on and gave it everything,'' Jordan Ayew said. ''Hard work pays off and I will continue to work. My older brother helps me a lot.''
Fanni then burst down the right again and set up Andre to cap off his fine performance, and take his season's league tally to nine league goals.
Argentine defender Civelli grabbed a consolation goal for Nice against his former club.
At Stade Gerland, Lyon coach Claude Puel again started with Gourcuff and veteran Brazilian defender Cris on the bench, although both figured in the match.
Gourcuff made a crucial run to the far post to turn in Lisandro Lopez's headed pass with time running out.
Ederson had put Lyon ahead in the 23rd minute with his first goal of the season when he cut in from the left and hit a shot which goalkeeper Geoffrey Jourdren flapped at and fumbled.
Striker Olivier Giroud equalized for Montpellier shortly after with this 11th league goal of the season, expertly controlling a long clearance from defense with his chest and hitting a half-volley past goalie Hugo Lloris.
Cris came on after 10 minutes when captain Jeremy Toulalan limped off after hurting his left knee in a tackle.
Lopez scored from 10 yards out to make it 2-1 in the 55th after strike partner Bafetimbi Gomis beat two defenders and set him up for a simple finish. Lopez took his league tally to 15, matching his total from last season.
Souleymane Camara made it 2-2 in the 84th and missed a chance to make it 3-3 in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
