EPL: West Ham top Premier League table after defeating Brighton

West Ham have moved to the top of the Premier League after a tactical astute 3-1 victory over Brighton on Saturday night.

Brighton bossed the first half with 84% of the possession but they struggled to create much of note against a well-drilled Hammers rearguard.

James Ward-Prowse set the ball rolling for West Ham when he followed up his eye-catching display at home to Chelsea with a scrappy 19th-minute opener to net his 50th goal in the top-flight.

West Ham put the game to bed with a two-goal-blitz in five devastating minutes.

First, Jarrod Bowen finished off a wonderful pass from substitute Said Benrahma before Michail Antonio’s sublime turn and finish just past the hour ended The Seagulls’ hopes.

Pascal Gross did pull one back for Brighton, eight minutes from time with a fine, long-range effort but it could not inspire a dramatic comeback.

Speaking after the match, Brighton’s coach Roberto De Zerbi said;

“I’m disappointed for the result but we didn’t play bad. We didn’t play a great game but we played a good game, enough to get some points. We concede the first goal in a stupid way. Then West Ham defended in the last 20 metres and it was very difficult to score although we had six or seven chances. I’m disappointed as we lost our balance. We can’t lose the balance. We are Brighton, we need to improve the team, the players and the understanding of the game.

“We can’t forget we are Brighton. We lost three important players. I don’t want to speak about the transfer market. It’s not normal that Brighton have to win against West Ham. It’s not right. We tried to win but it’s not normal. We want to improve and compete in every game but we can lose because we are Brighton. If I’m fixing the target higher then we can confuse the real value of the squad and the coaches because we are Brighton.

“Maybe people are confused – Brighton can lose to West Ham. Why not? Brighton can lose to Everton. We want to play with courage to make our fans happy by winning every game but we can forget we are Brighton. I want to be honest. I want to fight to win every game but for us we have to be clear and honest. We have to fix the target. What is the target, we will see. But it’s not responsible to fix a higher target if you lose players. We take responsibility for the defeat but not for the target.”

Saturday’s victory over Brighton pushed unbeaten West Ham to the top of the Premier League table, ahead of Tottenham and Arsenal on goals scored. David Moyes’ side will hope to continue their excellent start when they visit Luton next Friday, while fourth-placed Brighton will aim to bounce back when they host Newcastle next Saturday.