Match ends, Brighton and Hove Albion 1, West Ham United 1.
BrightonBrighton & Hove Albion1West HamWest Ham United1
Brighton summer signing Leandro Trossard scored and saw a goal ruled out by the video assistant referee as they were held to a draw by West Ham.
The Belgian playmaker, signed from Genk for an undisclosed fee in June, thought he had opened the scoring midway through the first half only for his effort to be ruled out for offside on a VAR review.
But Trossard was not to be denied a debut goal, and he fired past Lukasz Fabianski from the edge of the box shortly after Javier Hernandez had put the Hammers into a 61st-minute lead.
The Seagulls pushed for a winner late on with Trossard, Lewis Dunk and Davy Propper all going close, but Graham Potter was forced to settle for a point at the end of his first home game in charge.
Having thumped Watford on the opening day of the season, Brighton went into their first home game of the campaign high on confidence and it showed.
Dan Burn could have scored in the opening minutes but he failed to direct his headed effort goalward while Trossard, who was the stand-out performer from either side, had numerous chances to score more than one goal.
And second-half substitute Neal Maupay, who netted on debut against Watford a week earlier, also spurned a golden chance in the final minute of normal time, firing over with the goal gaping.
But to West Ham's credit, despite their lack of attacking threat, they did defend resolutely for long periods, and Michail Antonio spurned a fine chance of his own in the closing stages - heading weakly at Mat Ryan from close range.
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- As it happened: Brighton 1-1 West Ham
Trossard steps up to make mark
Graham Potter's Brighton tenure got off to the best possible start away at Watford last week.
Their 3-0 win represented a stark improvement at both ends of the pitch from last season when they narrowly avoided relegation by finishing 17th.
And their good form continued against the Hammers on Saturday - largely due to the performance of a player who was not even needed at Vicarage Road.
Trossard was indeed an unused substitute against the Hornets but having been thrust into the starting XI at the expense of Jurgen Locadia, the Belgian took his chance with both hands.
Whether it was carrying the ball at pace or threading balls through for Glenn Murray, the 24-year-old was a constant threat for the Seagulls.
And it only took him 28 minutes to find the net - although his sweetly timed finish was rightly ruled out for offside.
After consulting VAR, replays found that Burn, who provided the cross for Trossard's effort, was offside from the initial ball into the box.
But neither VAR nor Fabianski was able to deny the Belgian a debut goal as he pinched the ball from a dallying Issa Diop to fire home from the edge of the box just after the hour mark.
Trossard's signing was perhaps forgotten after Maupay's £20m arrival from Brentford but the Belgian's 22 goals and 11 assists from 47 outings for Genk last term illustrate he is certainly a dangerous attacking threat.
And Brighton fans will undoubtedly hope for more performances like this one from their new playmaker.
Hammers struggle again
West Ham were always up against it on the opening day as they faced reigning champions Manchester City, but would have hoped for a more inspiring performance at Brighton.
They were without Felipe Anderson and new signing Sebastien Haller, who both picked up knocks in the 5-0 defeat by Pep Guardiola's side, but Manuel Pellegrini did name £24m summer signing Pablo Fornals in the starting XI for the first time.
Yet Fornals, who won the Under-21 European Championship with Spain this summer, largely saw the game pass him by.
Whenever the 23-year-old did attempt to make an impact, he was bullied by Brighton's sturdy backline.
It was not until the 44th minute that West Ham took their first shot - a harmless effort from Declan Rice that sailed over the bar.
And it was with only their fourth shot which they took the lead as Hernandez coolly beat Ryan after being sent clear by Manuel Lanzini.
After the Mexican's goal, which came against the run of play, they offered little - with Robert Snodgrass and Lanzini failing to influence the game in the way their Brighton counterparts did.
Pellegrini will hope for an improved performance - and the return of several key men - when they travel to Watford next week.
Man of the match - Leandro Trossard (Brighton)
'It's an odd situation' - what they said
Brighton forward Leandro Trossard: "The goal which was ruled out, it was a nice strike. It's an odd situation - you cheer, the adrenaline comes up and it's bad luck that I couldn't have the first but it was good that I could come back and score on my debut in the second half instead. It is my first goal, it has helped us to get equal."
Brighton manager Graham Potter: "I thought the performance was really good. We played better than we did last week but now we go forwards. The level of football was really good but we know we can improve as well.
"There is a long way to go but the signs are good. The points return looks good. The performances are the things we want to focus on and we will look to do that next week and going forwards."
Hammers continue their August drought - the stats you need to know
- West Ham are winless in their past nine Premier League matches in the month of August (D1 L8), with this draw ending a run of eight consecutive defeats.
- Brighton have avoided defeat in each of their past five games against West Ham (W3 D2 L0), their longest unbeaten run against the Hammers.
- The Seagulls haven't scored more than once in any of their past 13 home league games, netting just eight goals in the process.
- West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini has faced no side more times in the Premier League without winning than he has versus Brighton (W0 D2 L1).
- All 53 of Javier Hernandez's Premier League goals have come from inside the penalty area - of the players who can make a similar claim, only Tim Cahill (56) has scored more.
- Leandro Trossard, who scored on his Brighton debut, netted the Seagulls' first Premier League goal from outside the box since 9 March, when Anthony Knoackaert struck the winner at Crystal Palace.
What's next?
Brighton host Southampton at the Amex Stadium next Saturday (15:00 BST) while West Ham face Watford at Vicarage Road at the same time.
Line-ups
Brighton
Formation 3-4-3
- 1Ryan
- 4Duffy
- 5Dunk
- 33Burn
- 22Montoya
- 24Pröpper
- 6Stephens
- 20March
- 13GroßSubstituted forMaupayat 67'minutes
- 17MurraySubstituted forAndoneat 74'minutes
- 11TrossardSubstituted forMooyat 85'minutes
Substitutes
- 7Maupay
- 9Locadia
- 10Andone
- 15Webster
- 18Mooy
- 27Button
- 30Bernardo
West Ham
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 1Fabianski
- 24Fredericks
- 23Diop
- 21Ogbonna
- 26MasuakuBooked at 76mins
- 41RiceBooked at 90mins
- 11Snodgrass
- 19WilshereSubstituted forAntonioat 45'minutes
- 10Lanzini
- 18FornalsSubstituted forYarmolenkoat 77'minutes
- 9HernándezSubstituted forC Sánchezat 83'minutes
Substitutes
- 4Balbuena
- 5Zabaleta
- 7Yarmolenko
- 13Jiménez
- 15C Sánchez
- 27Ajeti
- 30Antonio
- Referee:
- Anthony Taylor
- Attendance:
- 30,459
Match Stats
Home TeamBrightonAway TeamWest Ham
- Possession
- Home57%
- Away43%
- Shots
- Home16
- Away8
- Shots on Target
- Home4
- Away3
- Corners
- Home8
- Away6
- Fouls
- Home11
- Away10
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Brighton and Hove Albion 1, West Ham United 1.
Booking
Declan Rice (West Ham United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Martín Montoya (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Declan Rice (West Ham United).
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Attempt saved. Michail Antonio (West Ham United) header from very close range is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Issa Diop with a headed pass.
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Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Dan Burn.
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Offside, West Ham United. Issa Diop tries a through ball, but Andriy Yarmolenko is caught offside.
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Attempt missed. Neal Maupay (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Florin Andone following a corner.
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Corner, Brighton and Hove Albion. Conceded by Angelo Ogbonna.
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Foul by Davy Pröpper (Brighton and Hove Albion).
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Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Mat Ryan.
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Attempt saved. Robert Snodgrass (West Ham United) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Manuel Lanzini.
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Corner, Brighton and Hove Albion. Conceded by Issa Diop.
Substitution
Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Aaron Mooy replaces Leandro Trossard.
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Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Solly March.
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Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Dale Stephens.
Substitution
Substitution, West Ham United. Carlos Sánchez replaces Chicharito.
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Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Solly March.
Comments
Join the conversation
We desperately need Noble back, a situation we shouldn’t be in. He’s still the only leader we’ve got.
My pals and I are utterly filled with joy watching Potter-ball after enduring the beastly spectacle of Hughton's attempt at imitating the usual Amexesq art. Stupendous
Hammers were awful out of possession. The strength of this team is in possession, having said that, we were shocking with the ball today. Big improvement needed, better coaching required. COYI!
BHA are a tricky ole team despite where they finished last year (with a manager who stifled them).
Most fair minded would have predicted a draw.
COYI
WHU had chances to win it although it could have gone either way.
Seemed a fair point each. Off the bottom anyway! 'x'
He needs to get his finger out, or get shot of him.........
It says something of how 'well' West Ham played that Sanchez came on and actually improved the team.
Season starts next week (again, or maybe not)