Thauvin treble sees Marseille home in on Ligue 1 top four

PARIS, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Olympique Marseille closed in on the Ligue 1 top four with a Florian Thauvin hat-trick earning them a 3-1 win at struggling Amiens on Sunday while Montpellier and Lille both slipped up.The win lifted Marseille two places up to fifth on 25 points from 14 games, one behind third-placed Lille and fourth-placed Montpellier.Lille were beaten 2-0 at Nice while Montpellier were held to a 2-2 home draw by Rennes, allowing Olympique Lyonnais to stay second on 27 points -- 15 behind champions and leaders Paris St Germain, who have won all their 14 games.Thauvin carved out his memorable treble for Marseille after Bakaye Dibassy had given 16th-placed Amiens an early lead.He put the visitors level in the 26th minute after good work by Morgan Sanson, fired them ahead in the 80th minute from a free kick and then sealed the win in stoppage time after team mate Dimitri Payet had missed a penalty.Two goals by Montpellier's Andy Delort cancelled out Hatem Ben Arfa's fifth-minute opener for Rennes but the visitors salvaged a point thanks to a 71st-minute penalty from Benjamin Bourigeaud.Mario Balotelli set up Wylan Cyprien to fire Nice ahead against Lille in the 25th minute and Allan Saint-Maximin wrapped up the contest with a clinical finish in the closing stages. (Writing by Zoran Milosavljevic; Editing by Ian Chadband)