Brighton maintain unbeaten start with 2-0 win as West Ham slip to third straight loss

Goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Leandro Trossard condemned West Ham to a 2-0 defeat at home to bogey side Brighton.

Mac Allister’s first-half penalty and Trossard’s breakaway goal maintained Brighton’s unbeaten start to the season and made it three defeats from three matches for the Hammers.

West Ham have now played the Seagulls 11 times in the Premier League and not beaten them once.

Alarmingly, they have not yet scored a goal in the league this season, so it was surprising to see Gianluca Scamacca, the £30 million summer signing who got off the mark against Viborg in Europe on Thursday, back among the substitutes.

New defender Thilo Kehrer was given a full debut, but his Premier League career started inauspiciously when he brought down Danny Welbeck to concede a penalty.

Kurt Zouma had given the ball away in the middle of the pitch and Trossard’s pass found Welbeck, who was tripped on the edge of the area by the £10m signing from Paris Saint-Germain.

After VAR confirmed the foul was inside the box, Mac Allister stepped up to fire Brighton into a 22nd-minute lead.

WEST HAM RATINGS: Lukas Fabianski – 5. Could not have done anything for either goal, and did the basics well enough. Seems there is pressure on the Polish shot-stopper, however, with calls for Areola to start in goal for the Hammers. AP

Kehrer was enduring a torrid debut and after another defensive mix-up found himself wiped out by his own goalkeeper, Lukasz Fabianksi, before the ball was cleared.

With Brighton looking comfortable, Trossard had a shot blocked at the far post and Joel Veltman missed a simple header from six yards.

It was an abject first-half display from West Ham, with Said Benrahma’s early curler, which sailed wide, their only genuine