Alassane Plea celebrated his birthday with four goals as Nice defeated Guingamp 5-2 at Stade de Roudourou in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
The hosts went ahead after nine minutes through Clement Grenier's penalty before Plea hit three unanswered goals.
The French forward, who turned 25 on Saturday, equalised after 24 minutes when he rounded off a swift counter attack and scored again two minutes into the second half with a tidy, low finish. He completed his hat-trick just before the hour mark.
Marlon Santos' own goal looked like it might give Guingamp a route back into the match with seven minutes remaining but Bassem Srarfi's header soon restored Nice's two-goal cushion before Plea struck again in injury time.
It saw Nice win back-to-back Ligue 1 games for the first time since December, while Guingamp are without a home win in over two months.
"We went through difficult times this season and lost many points we should have picked up," Plea said after the match. "But we are still in the mix ... It's going to be tight, but there is room to go and get a European qualification."
Meanwhile, Lyon ended their six-match winless run in the league with a 1-0 win victory over Caen.
Bertrand Traore scored the only goal of the game in the 63rd minute with a left-footed finish from close range.
Ferland Mendy had earlier hit the post for the home side, who had not tasted victory in the league since beating Paris St Germain on Jan. 21.
Marseille went five points clear of Lyon with a 2-1 defeat of Toulouse at Stadium Municipal.
Firmin Mubele cancelled out Lucas Ocampos' opener in the 19th minute, but Kostas Mitroglou played the hero with the decisive strike in the 78th minute.