Nice's impressive Ricardo Pereira dealt Paris Saint-Germain a severe blow in their bid to win the Ligue 1 title at the Allianz Riviera. Pereira set up a goal before cutting in and curling a sensational effort into the top corner in the second half as Nice beat PSG 3-1. It means the capital club remain three points behind Monaco, who have a game in hand. The full-back broke swiftly down the right wing before teeing up Mario Balotelli in the first half, before doubling the score in the second half of a spicy encounter which saw the visitors have two players -- Thiago Motta and Angel Di Maria -- sent off in the dying moments before Anastasios Donis added a third.

Marquinhos flicked a header in with half an hour remaining to offer Unai Emery's side a glimmer of hope, but they were unable to maintain the pressure on Monaco as they slipped to a first defeat in 17 league matches. Florian Thauvin scored a hat trick as Marseille boosted their hopes of European football next season with a 5-1 victory at Caen. There was a dramatic start to the game as Marseille scored twice in the opening five minutes through Thauvin and Maxime Lopez. Ivan Santini halved the deficit after nine minutes, but 19-year-old Lopez restored the visitors' two-goal cushion as he became the youngest Marseille player to score a brace in Ligue 1 for 30 years.

Thauvin, who is on loan from Newcastle, took his league tally for the season to 15 with further strikes after 63 and 89 minutes as Marseille coasted home. Bordeaux came away with a point after a goalless deadlock to aid their quest for European qualification. Dijon gained a valuable point in the relegation battle with a goalless draw at home to Bordeaux. But it could have been a lot better had Cedric Carrasso not saved brilliantly from Chang-Hoon Kwon late on. Both sides missed their share of chances throughout the game, but the result ensured Dijon climbed out of the bottom three.