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west ham united Forced to a 2-2 draw in a suffocating match against a bogey side, failed to seize the relegation lifeline Brighton & Hove Albion.
Hammers lead Nottingham Forest 2-1 lost to evertoncould have reduced the safety gap to two points.
Given Forest are next up at the London Stadium, West Ham’s future will suddenly look brighter.
But Joel Veltman’s equalizer left the Hammers still in deep trouble and maintaining their impressive record of never beating Brighton at home, now nine games at home. Premier League Meeting.
Earlier, Danny Welbeck scored a penalty but missed another. Lucas Paqueta A penalty was missed and another penalty was scored. It was a night like this that meant both teams went the entire month of December without a win.
West Ham took the lead after 10 minutes with their first attack of the game Jarrod Bowen Chasing Paqueta’s ball over the top, past the Brighton defense and past goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
Young left-back Ollie Scarles was left in tears when he scored Fulham’s late winner on Saturday, but his shot went wide as he burst into the box and they almost doubled their lead.
However, Brighton equalized just after the half-hour mark when Max Kilman’s clumsy charge destroyed Jankuba Minter in the box and Welbeck converted Alphonse Areola’s penalty.
If West Ham’s defense was poor, the next game was downright bizarre, as Paqueta’s rugby tackle on Lewis Dunk at a corner prompted referee Michael Salisbury to point it out again.
Welbeck stepped up again and beat Areola again, but this time his ‘Panenka’ shot hit the crossbar.
The next penalty shootout came as Dunk blocked Callum Wilson’s shot as the first half entered stoppage time. Replays showed the ball struck the Seagulls defender’s arm away from his body and Salisbury awarded a penalty after a lengthy VAR check.
Paqueta, clearly looking to make amends for his incompetence at the other end, took responsibility and when Verbruggen dived one-way, the Brazilian rolled the ball into the opposite corner.
After the halftime break, another VAR check was conducted. Brighton substitute Kaoru Sanma fell to the ground under Bowen’s challenge, which was meaningless for the visiting team.
But when Areola’s punch landed at the feet of an unmarked Veltman, they simply converted a corner kick and scored.
Moments later, Verbruggen made a crucial save, diving to his left to deny Bowen’s header from Scales’ free kick.
Things could have gone from bad to worse for West Ham, however, with Areola blocking shots from Fedy Kadioglu, Georginio Root and Mitoma to ensure they earned at least a point.