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Brighton boosted their hopes of European qualification with a thumping Premier League victory over struggling West Ham that increases the pressure on Hammers boss David Moyes.
Alexis Mac Allister put Albion in front midway through the first half, converting from the spot after Jarrod Bowen bundled Kaoru Mitoma over in the area.
Substitute Joel Veltman doubled the hosts’ lead soon after half-time, chesting the ball in at the far post following a corner, before Mitoma slid in to make it 3-0.
Danny Welbeck added further gloss to the scoreline late on, drilling a right-footed shot into the bottom corner to condemn the Hammers to their biggest defeat of the season.
It was no more than Brighton deserved as they cut loose in the second half, producing a swaggering attacking display that could have seen them win by an even greater margin.
Moyes’ side went into the game having lost just one of their past five league games, including thrashing Nottingham Forest 4-0 in their previous fixture, but this result and performance provided a stark reality check.
Bowen and Tomas Soucek forced Jason Steele – making only his second top-flight appearance at the age of 32 – into smart saves when it was still 1-0, but they rarely threatened otherwise and remain just one point above the bottom three.
More to follow.
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Brighton & Hove Albion
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Squad number23Player nameSteele
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Squad number2Player nameLamptey
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Squad number4Player nameWebster
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Squad number5Player nameDunk
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Squad number30Player nameEstupiñán
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Squad number13Player nameGroß
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Squad number25Player nameCaicedo
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Squad number7Player nameMarch
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Squad number10Player nameMac Allister
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Squad number22Player nameMitoma
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Squad number28Player nameFerguson
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Squad number18Player nameWelbeck
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Squad number19Player nameSarmiento
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Squad number20Player nameEnciso
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Squad number34Player nameVeltman
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Squad number40Player nameBuonanotte
West Ham United
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Squad number13Player nameAréola
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Squad number2Player nameJohnson
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Squad number27Player nameAguerd
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Squad number21Player nameOgbonna
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Squad number33Player nameEmerson
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Squad number28Player nameSoucek
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Squad number41Player nameRice
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Squad number20Player nameBowen
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Squad number11Player nameLucas Paquetá
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Squad number22Player nameBenrahma
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Squad number18Player nameIngs
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Squad number4Player nameZouma
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Squad number8Player nameFornals
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Squad number10Player nameLanzini
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Squad number12Player nameDownes
Line-ups
Brighton
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 23Steele
- 2LampteySubstituted forVeltmanat 16′minutes
- 4Webster
- 5Dunk
- 30EstupiñánSubstituted forWelbeckat 76′minutes
- 13Groß
- 25Caicedo
- 7MarchSubstituted forBuonanotteat 76′minutes
- 10Mac Allister
- 22MitomaSubstituted forEncisoat 83′minutes
- 28FergusonSubstituted forSarmientoat 83′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Sánchez
- 18Welbeck
- 19Sarmiento
- 20Enciso
- 21Undav
- 27Gilmour
- 29van Hecke
- 34Veltman
- 40Buonanotte
West Ham
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 13Aréola
- 2Johnson
- 27Aguerd
- 21OgbonnaSubstituted forZoumaat 69′minutes
- 33Emerson
- 28SoucekBooked at 55minsSubstituted forDownesat 75′minutes
- 41RiceBooked at 60mins
- 20BowenBooked at 58mins
- 11Lucas PaquetáSubstituted forLanziniat 75′minutes
- 22BenrahmaSubstituted forFornalsat 45′minutes
- 18Ings
Substitutes
- 3Cresswell
- 4Zouma
- 7Scamacca
- 8Fornals
- 10Lanzini
- 12Downes
- 47Hegyi
- 49Anang
- Referee:
- Stuart Attwell
- Attendance:
- 31,523
Live Text
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Match ends, Brighton and Hove Albion 4, West Ham United 0.
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Second Half ends, Brighton and Hove Albion 4, West Ham United 0.
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Attempt missed. Pascal Groß (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Julio Enciso.
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Goal! Brighton and Hove Albion 4, West Ham United 0. Danny Welbeck (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Facundo Buonanotte.
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Adam Webster (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Danny Ings (West Ham United).
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Attempt blocked. Facundo Buonanotte (Brighton and Hove Albion) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Pascal Groß.
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Attempt saved. Julio Enciso (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Alexis Mac Allister.
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Attempt saved. Julio Enciso (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
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Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Julio Enciso replaces Kaoru Mitoma.
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Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Jeremy Sarmiento replaces Evan Ferguson.
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Attempt missed. Moisés Caicedo (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Facundo Buonanotte.
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Attempt missed. Danny Welbeck (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Alexis Mac Allister.
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Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Danny Welbeck replaces Pervis Estupiñán.
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Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Facundo Buonanotte replaces Solly March.
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Substitution, West Ham United. Manuel Lanzini replaces Lucas Paquetá.
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Substitution, West Ham United. Flynn Downes replaces Tomás Soucek.
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Attempt missed. Evan Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Pervis Estupiñán.
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Hand ball by Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton and Hove Albion).
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Goal! Brighton and Hove Albion 3, West Ham United 0. Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Pascal Groß.
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