Diedhiou's Treble Sinks Bordeaux

Ligue 1 has long been a stage where borrowed talent shines brightest, and on Sunday afternoon Montpellier Hérault SC reaped the benefits of a loan that is beginning to look like the steal of the season. Daouda Diedhiou, on a modest temporary arrangement from Villarreal, produced a performance of such ruthless efficiency that FC Girondins de Bordeaux were left wondering what had hit them. The 4-1 scoreline flatters the visitors not one bit.

Diedhiou was everywhere, a perpetual nuisance to a Bordeaux defence that never settled. His hat-trick, taken with seven shots and four on target, was the centrepiece of a Montpellier display that mixed graft with no little craft. Frédéric Cheze, the engine room, provided two assists and a constant supply line, while Menachem Zikri added a goal and an assist of his own. The home side's 59% possession was well spent.

Bordeaux, for their part, were not entirely supine. Jaime's goal and Renzo García's second-half introduction gave them brief hope, but it was a flicker in a storm. The visitors' 41% share of the ball and six shots tell of a side chasing shadows for long stretches. Carlos Marenyà's booking for a frustrated lunge summed up their afternoon.

For Montpellier, the result is a welcome tonic after a season of uneven returns. The centre-back pairing of Anthony Simoncini and Federico Rosati, a partnership that has leaked goals with alarming regularity, held firm enough here, and the introduction of Ramon on 63 minutes added a late flourish. But this was Diedhiou's day. A perfect ten in the ratings, thirteen-point-nine kilometres run, and a match ball to take home. If the loan fee was £0.1m, it is already the bargain of the autumn.

Bordeaux will lick their wounds and reflect on a missed opportunity to climb. Montpellier, meanwhile, can dream of what might be if their borrowed striker keeps this up. On this evidence, the answer to that earlier question about finding a response is standing right in front of them, wearing the number ten shirt.