Mason Greenwood was the spark for Roberto De Zerbi's side in a 2-1 victory as he scored one goal and assisted the other to turn the game around after Arnaud Kalimuendo's 43rd-minute strike had put Rennes ahead.

It could have been worse for Marseille as the Rennes striker saw a penalty saved by Geronimo Rulli shortly after the half-hour mark. It is the third consecutive spot-kick the Argentinean has kept out of the net.

However, Greenwood netted the equaliser on the stroke of half-time to give Marseille a much-needed boost at the break before setting up Adrien Rabiot for the winner four minutes into the second half.

Marseille has picked up 16 points out of a possible 18 since the November international break, more than any other team in that period.

PSG will hope to extend its lead at the top once more when it faces Saint-Etienne on Monday (AEDT).

Elsewhere, Nice moved into the top four after a resounding 4-2 win over Reims.

Evan Guessand headed Nice in front, but the lead was short-lived thanks to Junya Ito, who levelled the score again just six minutes later.

Gaetan Laborde then scored on either side of half-time, netting from the penalty spot before the break and grabbing a second in the 64th minute to give Nice a commanding lead.

Substitute Mamadou Diakhon gave Reims some hope as he pulled one back with a long-range strike, but Ali Abdi's late intervention restored Nice's two-goal cushion.

Franck Haise's side moved up to fourth, leapfrogging Lyon in the process after it suffered a 2-1 defeat at Brest earlier in the day.

Lyon failed to recover after conceding in the eighth minute, with Mahdi Camada following up his early goal by setting up Ludovic Ajorque later in the first half.

Jordan Veretout pulled one back for Lyon in first-half stoppage-time, but his side could not follow it up with a second goal after the break as it was condemned to a fifth league defeat of the season.