Olympique de Marseille posted a fourth win in a row in all competitions after a second-half treble saw them beat Metz 3-0 on the road, forcing Les Grenats to wait at least another couple of weeks for their first win of the season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given Metz’s woes since being promoted back to Ligue 1, Marseille began proceedings on the front foot.
Mason Greenwood tested Jonathan Fischer with a bouncing effort, before Angel Gomes somehow missed the mark after being picked out in the centre of the area by Robinio Vaz.
While that was their best opportunity of the half, the visitors had further opportunities to break the deadlock, and Greenwood soon pulled a shot against the near post after cutting inside.
A frustrated Marseille continued to push, but their frustration led to sloppiness in front of goal. Matt O’Riley forged his way into the box and to the byline to play it across for Vaz, but the 18-year-old’s eventual shot was too weak to beat Fischer.
A mistake from Nayef Aguerd then granted Metz their only clear chance of the half, but Gerónimo Rulli was able to come out to deny Cheikh Sabaly one-on-one.
The lack of goals going into the break was mostly down to a combination of Marseille’s poor finishing and the form of Fischer in goal, but there was nothing the Danish stopper could do about the opener just six minutes after the restart.
Vaz broke through during a fast move and squared it to Igor Paixão, whose shot was cruelly deflected inside the near post.
It immediately looked as though the division’s bottom club could be in for a tough evening, and their opponents made it two with just over 20 minutes to go as Amine Gouiri laid it off for O’Riley to sweep home.
And those two were at it again just seven minutes later, as this time Gouiri played a one-two with his teammate amid a mazy run before slotting it past Fischer to put the game totally beyond Metz.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side have brushed off early-season defeats at both Rennes and Lyon and now sit top of the division, at least until their pursuers play their own matches this weekend.
It’s not looking good for Metz, who remain bottom of the pile and could see themselves either promoted or relegated in a fifth successive season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Amine Gouiri (Olympique de Marseille)