West Ham halted a sequence of three straight Premier League defeats with a 2-2 draw against Brighton, in a match dominated by penalties and set pieces, as both teams missed chances to claim a vital win in the capital.
The hosts twice moved in front, yet Brighton answered each time and stretched Brighton's winless streak to six matches, while West Ham trimmed the gap to 17th-placed Nottingham Forest to four points in a tight relegation battle.
Against the flow of early Brighton pressure, Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring on 10 minutes, breaking clear one-on-one and calmly finishing past Bart Verbruggen to give Nuno Espirito Santo's team an unexpected advantage at London Stadium.
Brighton drew level in the 32nd minute when Maximilian Kilman tripped
Yankuba Minteh inside the area, allowing Danny Welbeck to send Alphonse Areola the wrong way with a confident penalty that restored parity for Roberto De Zerbi's side.
Only three minutes after that first spot-kick, Lucas Paqueta grappled Lewis Dunk at a set piece, and the referee pointed to the spot again, but Welbeck’s delicate chip struck the crossbar and bounced to safety for West Ham.
West Ham then punished that miss deep into first-half added time, when a Dunk handball gave Paqueta a chance from 12 yards, and the midfielder drilled his penalty beyond Verbruggen to send West Ham into the break 2-1 ahead.
West Ham vs Brighton: second-half pressure and key milestones
Brighton increased the tempo after half-time and were rewarded on 61 minutes, when Areola failed to claim a corner, allowing Joel Veltman to react fastest and convert from close range, bringing the visitors level for a second time.
Brighton dominated territory in the closing stages and forced West Ham back, yet the Seagulls could not turn late pressure into a decisive third goal, leaving both teams to settle for a point that changed little in the table.
The match produced several notable numbers. It was only the second Premier League game to feature three penalties before half-time, after Fulham against Bolton Wanderers in August 2002, and the third time West Ham conceded two home penalties in the competition.
Paqueta entered the record lists as just the second player to score a penalty and concede one in the first half of the same Premier League match, while Bowen quietly matched Michail Antonio's West Ham Premier League record of 101 combined goals and assists.
The expected goals figures underlined the frantic nature of the contest, with West Ham posting 2.12 xG against Brighton's 2.85, as both sides created enough to win, yet ultimately left London Stadium frustrated with a draw.
We have to settle for a point in London. pic.twitter.com/pcjfYKqo3eBrighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) December 30, 2025
The draw leaves Brighton searching for a first league win in six outings, while West Ham gain a measure of stability after three losses, collect an important point in the survival race, and see Bowen reach a significant club milestone.
