A first half penalty from Alexis Mac Allister and a Leandro Trossard finish after the break ensured that Brighton travelled back to the South Coast with all three points.
It was the home side who started on the front foot and created the most meaningful opportunities, with Saïd Benrahma curling a shot wide in the opening minutes before Michail Antonio failed to get on the end of a dangerous cross by Jarrod Bowen.
They were then made to pay for their missed chances, when debutant Thilo Kehrer clumsily brought down Danny Welbeck in the box after just twenty minutes. After a brief VAR check, Mac Allister stepped up to coolly send Łukasz Fabiański the wrong way.
After a more encouraging start to the second half by David Moyes’ men, it was the Seagulls who doubled their advantage in the second half in classy fashion. Pascal Groß deliciously flicked the ball past Kurt Zouma and into the path of Trossard, who slotted the ball past Fabiański.
It should have been three for Brighton when Solly March headed over with ten minutes to go, and two saves in quick succession from Robert Sanchez meant Brighton continue their unbeaten start to the campaign. It is a completely different story to West Ham who haven’t been able to score in any of their opening fixtures.
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Story of the Match
West Ham made one change from their defeat to Nottingham Forest last week, with new signing Thilo Kehrer coming in at centre back to make his first league appearance since joining from Paris St Germain.
Brighton travelled to the London Stadium having won their first game of the season against Manchester United and drawing at home to Newcastle last week. Graham Potter named an unchanged lineup for the third game in a row looking to continue their fine form against the Irons.
Despite losing their opening two league games without finding the net, West Ham came into the game having got their Europa Conference League campaign off to a winning start on Thursday with a 3-1 win against Viborg FF.
And it was indeed West Ham who looked the most likely to open the scoring in the opening exchanges. Benrahma and Fornals linked up well but were unable to create any clear cut opportunities before Bowen’s cross just evaded Antonio.
The visitors started to grow into the game and West Ham were caught on the break. Welbeck picked up the ball from Trossard and was brought down by a reckless challenge from debutant Kehrer. Video Assistant Referee Lee Mason made sure that the offence did take place in the area, and a penalty was given.
Mac Allister waited for Fabianski to move first before slotting the ball into the opposite corner. The goal knocked the Hammers back and they were unable to regain a foothold in the game before half time. The fans made their feelings known at the break as a chorus of boos rung round East London.
Clinical Brighton
The hosts started the second half in a similar fashion to how they began the first half. Tomáš Souček’s header was deflected wide and Aaron Cresswell’s volley from a corner was blocked by Joël Veltman. But it was once again Brighton who took their opportunity.
Mac Allister’s pass was beautifully flicked onto Trossard by Groß, who advanced towards Fabianski and finished emphatically. It was a fantastic move from Brighton but it was all too easy to carve through the middle of the West Ham defence.
Potter’s men so easily could have had a third goal through Solly March, who could only head over from Pervis Estupiñán’s cross. They looked like the team in control of the game and were fully deserving of their two goal advantage.
David Moyes introduced new attacking signings Maxwel Cornet and Gianluca Scamacca from the bench in the second half, but they were unable to find a response. Sanchez saved twice in quick succession from Souček’s header and from Bowen’s effort from the resulting corner.
The result consigned West Ham to their third straight Premier League defeat where they have been unable to find the net, whilst buoyant Brighton on the other hand extend their fine start to the campaign.
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Player of the Match - Leandro Trossard
A number of Brighton players could have picked up the award in what was a fairly dominant performance. Trossard fed in Welbeck who was brought down for the penalty in the first half before slotting a fine team goal to tie up the game.
He was involved in much of Brighton’s build up play and was fully deserving of his goal.