Moussa Sow's hat trick helped Lille rout Caen 5-2 in the French league and climb to within a point of leader Brest in the standings on Saturday.
Brest drew 1-1 with Sochaux to top the standings with 22 points from 13 matches, but Rennes could snatch the lead if it beats Auxerre on Sunday.
Senegal striker Sow fired into the roof of the net from 10 meters (yards) to open the scoring for Lille in the 25th minute.
Forward Gervinho then charged down the left flank to cut the ball back for Sow who made it 2-0 in the 35th.
Youssef El-Arabi pulled one back for Caen with a low strike from the edge of the box in the 40th but Sow restored Lille's two-goal cushion on the stroke of halftime, converting a rebound after goalkeeper Alexis Thebaux saved a chip from Gervinho.
Sow became the top striker in the league with nine goals, tied with El-Arabi.
Kandia Traore dribbled past Emerson to shoot past goalkeeper Mickael Landreau and cut Lille's lead to 3-2.
Lille secured the win in stoppage time, as Gervinho skipped past Thebaux to slot into an empty net in the 92nd before Franck Beria unleashed a powerful strike from the edge of the box in the 93rd.
Elsewhere it was: Marseille 1, Lens 1; Montpellier 1, Toulouse 0; Bordeaux 2, Nancy 1; Monaco 0, Arles-Avignon 0.
The match pitting Valenciennes against Saint-Etienne was postponed because of a swamped pitch.
Nigerian forward Ideye Brown opened the scoring for Sochaux with a powerful strike in the 22nd but Nolan Roux diverted in a header from Paul Baysse in the 38th to salvage a point for Brest.
In Marseille, centerback Stephane Mbia powered a header home off a corner from playmaker Lucho Gonzalez to give the hosts the lead in the sixth.
But the Marseille defense failed to clear a cross from Adil Hermach in the 58th and forward Eduardo pounced on the loose ball to level with a diagonal shot.
Marseille players were loudly booed by their supporters at the final whistle.
"The Marseille jersey can be heavy," Marseille coach Didier Deschamps told Canal Plus television. "There's sometimes a lack of confidence."
"When you get the ball and hear 10, 15 or 20 jeers, it's not easy. We must find a way to be a bit more relaxed to be more competitive."
Marseille has 19 points with a game in hand.
In Montpellier, Olivier Giroud beat goalkeeper Matthieu Valverde to the ball to head home a free kick from midfielder Marco Estrada in the 20th.
Montpellier was level on points with Lille.
Bordeaux edged Nancy 2-1 with a last-minute controversial goal to narrow the gap on Brest to three points.
Czech Republic midfielder Jaroslav Plasil's free kick in the 90th minute hit Geraldo Wendel's hand and bounced off the post without apparently going over the line but the referee awarded Bordeaux the winning goal.
Nancy lodged a formal complaint to contest the result.
Ludovic Sane initially put Bordeaux ahead in the 22nd with a header off a cross from Benoit Tremoulinas before Paul Alo'o Efoulou equalized from close range in the 82nd.
On Sunday, Lyon hosts Nice and Paris Saint-Germain visits Lorient.
