GOAL FLASH!

West Ham United 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion

(5′ mins): Good start to the season or not, West Ham hadn’t beaten Brighton in any of the eight meetings since the Seagulls returned to the top flight in 2017. Perhaps mindful of that grim statistic, it was a nervy start from the East Londoners. Neil Maulpay, a whisker away from opening the scoring following some hesitant defending.

But the home sides’ response was rapid. Pablo Fornals flag-kick – Tomas Soucek with the faintest of touches – Hammers ahead inside five minutes.