Thauvin hat-trick leads Marseille six-goal romp

Florian Thauvin took his season's league goal tally to 13 with a hat-trick as Marseille enjoyed a 6-3 rout of rock-bottom Metz in French Ligue 1 on Friday. The win moved Marseille into second place in the table, eight points behind bitter rivals Paris Saint-Germain who have a game in hand and face struggling Lille on Saturday. Marseille were 5-0 up before Metz got on the scoresheet, such was the dominance of Rudi Garcia's men.

9' - ⚽️ 44' - ⚽️ 56' - ⚽️

Florian Thauvin was in fine form in front of goal as he scored a hat-trick for Marseille against Metz. ? pic.twitter.com/g21JSDr5vn — Goal (@goal) February 2, 2018

Morgan Sanson fired them in front after just six minutes before former Newcastle striker Thauvin hit the first of his three with a volley two minutes later. He got the better of Metz's Senegalese defender Fallou Diagne to score his second just before the interval and completed his hat-trick in the 56th minute after being set-up by Dimitri Payet. Valere Germain, on the stroke of half-time, and Kostas Mitroglou added the sixth on 75 minutes, again with Payet delivering the key ground work.

Florian Thauvin scored a hat-trick as Marseille won a thrilling Ligue 1 contest 6-3 at home to Metz. A team to watch in the #UEL knockout stages? pic.twitter.com/9AKuhTqZmq

— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) February 2, 2018

Metz scored their goals in the last quarter of an hour with a Florent Mollet double and last-gasp header from Ibrahima Niane. Garcia was full of praise for Thauvin. "'Flo' continues to be a decisive player, you don't need me to tell you," said the coach.

10-10 - Florian Thauvin is the 2nd player to reach double figures for both goals and assists in the Top 5 leagues this season (13 goals, 10 assists) after Neymar (17 goals, 11 assists). Unleashed. pic.twitter.com/k4RburTXG9

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) February 2, 2018

"I want him to continue to work, to have an important contribution. He is a humble man. Praise can weaken men and I do not want him to be weaker!" On the game, Garcia added: "When we score six goals in a home game, we can only be satisfied. We relaxed a bit at the end, but it was a great show." Even Frederic Hantz, the Metz coach, admired Thauvin's performance. "I am a fan of Florian Thauvin. I worked with him for two years, he is a great talent, a very endearing player." RESULTS: Marseille 6 (Sanson 6, Thauvin 8, 44, 55, Germain 49, Mitroglou 75) Metz 3 (Mollet 74, 84, Niane 90)