Brighton & Hove Albion host West Ham United in matchday 3 of the English Premier League on Saturday, 26th of August, 2023, at the Amex Stadium.
It was another strong task for the Hammers and David Moyes but the Londoner’s confidence has risen following their recent 3-1 victory over Chelsea.
West Ham United started with four points from their opening two matches of the current season after a tough summer.
Brighton have secured eight goals in two matches against Luton Town and Wolverhampton and looked at their best even at the early stage of the Premier League campaign.
West Ham United’s Angelo Ogbonna made his first start of the season pairing with Kurt Zouma, and Edson Alvarez also replaced Said Benrahma with an extra defensive option.
Moyes missed starting center-back Konstantinos Mavropanos and starting right-back Nayef Aguerd who are serving suspension.
The Hammers depended heavily on James Ward-Prowse, like he did against Chelsea because his set-piece delivery is dangerous for opposing teams and often proves decisive when the club is short on scoring opportunities.
Brighton were undefeated in their last 12 meetings with West Ham along with their recent success. Two of their previous three meetings versus the Hammers have resulted in penalty kicks.
West Ham tried to maintain their perfect start to the season at Amex Stadium, but they, like most clubs, know that it won’t be all fun and games.
Brighton & Hove Albion starting XI:
Verbruggen, Milner, Webster, Dunk, Estupinan, Gross, Gilmour, March, Ferguson, Mitoma, Welbeck
West Ham United starting XI: Areola,
Coufal, Zouma, Ogbonna, Emerson Palmieri, Soucek, Ward-Prowse, Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Alvarez, Antonio.
The match got underway at exactly 5:30 pm (BST) with Evan Ferguson who kicked from the center midfielder getting the game started for Brighton.
West Ham United played with three players in the center of the midfield, Alvarez, Ward-Prowse, and Soucek.
In the 6 minutes of action, West Ham looked to be in control of the game, with Brighton losing a lot of balls.
Antonio outdistanced Gilmour at the halfway line and Webster within 30 yards halfway goal during one particularly impressive run.
He made a bold run towards the goal, but Estupinan made a game-saving tackle on the other end. At some point, Antonio got pushed wide and lost possession of the ball.
The Hammers started well, defending solidly, and looked like a real danger on the crack.
Brighton kept working the ball back and forth, trying to find a way through. There was no threading of the West Ham needle.
James Ward Prowse broke the deadlock with a fine finish in the 19 minutes of play and put the visitors ahead at Amex Stadium.
The goalscorer was booked for a studs-up tackle on Gilmour. He got the ball but then came into Gilmour’s ankle. His challenge was checked by VAR and was awarded a card.
The Seagulls moved the ball at a pace that allowed West Ham to maintain their defensive pattern.
West Ham made substitutions in the 39 minutes, Tomas Soucek was replaced by Said Benrahma with Lucas Paqueta playing the midfield position.
Welbeck was fouled by Alvarez on the edge, who got booked for his tackle.
The first half ended at 49 minutes with West Ham United taking the lead following Ward Prowse’s strike.
West Ham United kicked off the second half of the match with no substitution on either club.
Brighton almost equalized right at the beginning of the second half but they were denied by West Ham shoot-stopper Areola.
Brighton wanted a penalty when Estupinan was barged by Paqueta over in the area but referee Anthony Taylor had none of it.
Jarrod Bowen scored an extraordinary goal in the 59th minute of play and made it 2-0 against the Seagulls.
Brighton made double changes in the 60th minute with Joao Pedro and Adam Lallana subbed on for Danny Welbeck and Billy Gilmour.
West Ham took total control of the match and Antonio made it 3-0 for the Londoners in the 64th minute with a fantastic pass from Bowen.
Bowen located the striker who controlled the ball perfectly and ended up with an excellent finish.
His dribbling and ball control are top-notch, allowing him to fool Brighton defender Webster into a breakaway that ended with a right-footed shot into the left corner of the net.
Brighton had good ball possessions, but West Ham was too much for them to handle. On several occasions, the Hammers claimed the ball back from the home team and broke up the field at pace.
In the 81st minute, Pascal Gross put one back for Brighton. He produced a low, drilled left-foot strike from around the edge of the box to make this a courageous finish for the home team.
Areola made a nice save for West Ham in the 89th minute as Veltman had a huge chance of putting past the keeper, but the Hammers’s shoot-stopper pulled off an incredible save.
