The visitors started on the front foot and were duly rewarded with the lead after 11 minutes, when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang turned the ball home from close range following a corner-kick for his fifth Ligue 1 goal of the season.
Just after the half-hour mark, Marseille came close to doubling their advantage as Mason Greenwood’s dribble into the penalty area resulted in a firm effort tipped around the post by Yehvann Diouf.
The pressure on the hosts soon told, though, and Roberti De Zerbi’s side extended their lead in the 33rd minute thanks to Greenwood’s deflected shot, which wrong-footed the goalkeeper.
Tempers immediately flared in the aftermath of the goal, as a large number of players from both clubs got involved in heated arguments that took a while to de-escalate.
Nice almost grabbed a lifeline in the latter stages of the first half in outrageous fashion, when Terem Moffi’s incredible back-heeled volley was superbly tipped over the bar by Jeffrey de Lange to keep his clean sheet intact.
Moffi was presented with a much simpler opportunity at the start of stoppage time, but his close-range shot was aimed straight at the goalkeeper.
Just before the referee blew the whistle for the interval, Les Phocéens really should have wrapped the game up, but a golden chance went begging as Igor Paixão fluffed his lines with just Diouf to beat.
The second half began in frantic fashion. Moffi, once again, had a big opportunity to get Nice back into contention, but the Nigeria international saw his effort parried away from danger by de Lange.
The hosts would immediately regret that missed chance as Greenwood drilled the ball into the bottom corner from just outside the box for Marseille’s third goal of the night and his 10th goal of the Ligue 1 campaign.
At this point, Nice’s defence was all over the place, and Les Phocéens were in no mood to take their foot off the gas.
De Zerbi’s side punished their rivals further as Timothy Weah collected Aubameyang’s pass and rifled the ball into the back of the net from 12 yards out to stun the home crowd into silence in the 58th minute.
Shortly after the hour mark, Les Aiglons managed a consolation thanks to Mohamed-Ali Cho, but his lack of celebration showed that the game was over as a contest.
The icing on the cake for the visitors arrived after 74 minutes when the excellent Aubameyang unselfishly teed up Paixão, who nonchalantly stroked the ball into the net to deflate the home support even further.
Marseille’s third Ligue 1 victory in a row steers them one point clear of second-placed Paris Saint-Germain, but the reigning European champions do now have a game in hand on their title rivals. Nice remain mid-table in ninth position with 17 points collected from 13 matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Olympique de Marseille)