(Ligue 1 2023/2024): Highlights STRASBOURG - BREST

Breast-headed south-east to Strasbourg, having found themselves as best of the rest in the Ligue 1 Eurobricks table after last weekend. After three successive draws, all but two of them pretty impressive against the then top two of PSG and Nice, they feel like they've returned to plundering ways at home to another big name in Marseille. LH Pierre-Louis Melou, winner, defying their numerical disadvantage, promoting them above Les Aiglons and Monaco, both of whom fell to defeats. Strasbourg, on the other hand, were on the run of three successive losses to the Parisians, Lens and Lorient. So the Pirates began their raid on the Strasbourg penalty area and struck gold in the 33rd minute, making good on a spell of momentum. They're asking trying to play out from the back but only playing themselves into trouble, allowing Mathias Pereira-Large to find Martin Satriano, whose blocked shot fell kindly to Madi Kamra, and his first-time strike deflected past Alap Belarus. Patrick Vieira looking on, his 100th Ligue 1 over-eats match as a manager, not starting the way he would have hoped. Brest becoming long-distance specialists. That is their seventh goal from outside the box this season, only Paris have more. Ten minutes later, it will be a shot from a shorter distance that doubled the lead, as Kamra capitalised on some weak defending to double his and his side's tally for the evening. A touch and a finish. Good link-up play on the right wing initially. Satriano allowed to cut inside unchallenged and pick out the unmarked Kamra. He set himself and had no trouble firing it into the back of the net once again. Number 45 making it 2-0 after 45 minutes. It wouldn't take too long for Brest to put the result beyond doubt after the restart. Twelve minutes into the second half, a Brest free-kick was heading out of play before Pierre Lismelou hooked the ball back into the danger area. So it striked Luka Perrin on the arm. And of course, under the circumstances, who else but Kamra to step up and send Belarus the wrong way to complete his hat-trick. The former Saint-Étienne man becomes the sixth Brest player to score a hat-trick in the top flight, the first to do so away from home. So a win that takes Brest to a dozen league matches unbeaten. Hopefully in their longest ever run, as a third consecutive home defeat for Strasbourg leaves them just three points clear of danger.