West Ham hit the top after bringing Brighton’s flying start to an abrupt end

West Ham top of the Premier League, their dreadful record against Brighton reaching a spectacular end, and a victory that must be registered as a tactical triumph for David Moyes. Smash-and-grab, old-style pragmatism picked apart the new-wave counterpress that has made Roberto De Zerbi the name to drop among football intellectual circles.

“Are you watching Declan Rice?” asked the away fans, perhaps a tad ungratefully since James Ward-Prowse, bought with Rice’s transfer fee, had opened the scoring. Rice’s replacement in defensive midfield, Edson Álvarez, was another outstanding performer. Brighton dominated possession but had no answer to the quality of West Ham’s attack. Lucas Paquetá, who would have joined Rice in exiting the club had other matters not intervened, played creative director, and often off a minimal supply as Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio, the other scorers, showed a ruthlessness in attack that Brighton failed to emulate.

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