West Ham United and Brighton and Hove Albion closed out a winless December by sharing a frantic 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, a contest defined by three first-half penalties, defensive errors and missed chances at both ends. The Hammers twice led through Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paquetá, only for Danny Welbeck and Joël Veltman to haul Brighton level each time in a game that showcased as much anxiety as entertainment.
Brighton began on top but fell behind to Bowen's 10th-minute strike, before Welbeck scored one penalty and missed another in a remarkable 15-minute spell that also saw Paquetá concede and then convert spot-kicks at opposite ends of the pitch. Veltman then capitalised on a second-half mistake from Alphonse Areola to make it 2-2, and although substitutes Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter drove Brighton forward late on, West Ham also threatened through Bowen as both teams chased a decisive third goal.
The result did little to ease the pressure on either side. West Ham's winless league run now stretches to eight matches and they remain in the relegation zone despite Nottingham Forest's defeat by Everton, while Brighton's own sequence without a Premier League victory extends to six games as they continue to inhabit the bottom half. It was only the second Premier League fixture ever to feature three penalties in the first half, and Paquetá became just the second player in the competition's history to both concede and score a spot-kick before the interval, on an evening when West Ham still could not end their wait for a home league win over their bogey side Brighton.
Bowen punishes Brighton's familiar slow start