Draw Against West Ham, Brighton Can Still Move Manchester United

West Ham United played a goalless draw against Brighton and Hove Albion. (X/@WestHam)

JAKARTA - West Ham United were only able to draw 0-0 when they hosted Brighton and Hove Albion in the English Premier League match at the London Stadium, Wednesday, January 3, 2024 in the morning WIB. This result allowed Brighton to replace Manchester United.

Duel dua tim kateng tengah yang kehilangan taji. Brighton bermain brilliant di laga sebelumnya dengan membuka Tottenham Hotspur 4-2. Mereka juga memajakan permainan klub Kota London, Crystal Palace, di laga yang berakhir 1-1.

But The Seagulls had to settle for a point after returning to a draw against another London club, West Ham.

The result brought Brighton up one strip in the standings. Roberto De Zerbi's team managed to rank seventh with 31.

Same as MU, but Brighton are ahead on goal difference so they can shift the position of the Red Devils.

Meanwhile, West Ham confirmed their position in sixth place with 34 points. Five points adrift of Tottenham Hotspur who are ranked fifth.

West Ham actually had a good record before playing Brighton. David Moyes' team successfully beat MU 2-0 and then beat the hosts Arsenal with the same score in London Derby.

The impressive victory brought West Ham to improve the rankings. Only, the Hammers failed to score their third win at home to Brighton.

In that match, both teams had serious problems with player injuries. A total of 16 core players from both teams missed the match.

Midfielder Mohamed Kudus became West Ham's last player to suffer an injury so he could not appear in that match. Even though he has not recovered from a hamstring injury, Kudus is still called up by the Ghanaian national team who will play in the Africa Cup of Nations.

In addition, midfielder Lucas Paqueta could not play due to a knee injury. Without both, West Ham's front line did not move to face Brighton's strong defense.

If the front sector has difficulty scoring, West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola will perform brilliantly. He at least thwarted eight chances from Brighton who lost nine players in that match.

Like Areola, Brighton goalkeeper Jason covered no less brilliantly when standing under the bar. He thwarted two opportunities for the hosts through James Ward-Prowse and Konstantinos Mavropanos.

This is West Ham's golden opportunity when a shot from close range Ward-Prowse can be thwarted. Likewise, Mavropanos' header, which has the potential for goals, cannot be converted because of it.

But Areola's brilliant performance made Brighton fail to win.

With possession reaching 62%, they should have outperformed West Ham. But Brighton failed to do so.

Of the eight saves made by the French goalkeeper, there are two opportunities that could have been converted into goals, namely Jack Hinshelwood and Pascal Gross. This made until the end of the match a goalless draw.