Italian Marco Simone fired two goals as Paris Saint-Germain trounced Rennes 4-1 at the Parc des Princes to stay in touch with French First Division leaders Metz.
Metz retained top spot with a 2-1 away win against title holders Monaco on Friday, making it five wins out of five for the leaders.
The Parisians, who remained three points behind, took the lead when defender Bruno N'Gotty netted a 25-yard free-kick in the 34th minute.
Former AC Milan striker Simone struck in the 68th and 75th minutes to become the early-season leading league scorer with five goals.
Rennes cut the deficit by scoring with a penalty from Loic Lambert with 13 minutes to go, but defender Paul le Guen wrapped up the spoils from another free-kick in the 89th minute.
'I'm very optimistic for the future,' said skipper Rai, who scored a hat-trick when PSG trounced Steaua Bucharest in the European Cup on Wednesday.