Kudus pegs back misfiring Brighton but West Ham desperate for Christmas lift

On the year’s shortest day, a match that briefly came to life unfolded. In just seven minutes during the second half, out of nowhere, action began to unfold. Brighton scored first. West Ham responded with an equalizer. After that, the excitement faded away once more.

To be fair, the final moments had some exciting highlights. Crysencio Summerville, one of the ten players substituted in the second half, took the ball away from Jan Paul van Hecke and raced toward the goal, but his attempt was stopped. Yankuba Minteh, also a substitute, passed the ball across the goal, and it was redirected by defender Vladimir Coufal, hitting the far post.

In the fourth minute of added time, as Brighton was putting on a strong push, Evan Ferguson, who was their fourth substitute, had just missed a chance from a cross by Pervis Estupiñán that seemed too easy to miss. However, he assisted Yasin Ayari, the fifth substitute, but Ayari's shot was expertly saved.

"In the second half, we put everything on the line, and under usual circumstances, we should have walked off the field as winners. But then again, what is ever 'normal' in football?" remarked Fabian Hürzeler, the head coach of Brighton.

"It was a balanced game," remarked his opponent, Julen Lopetegui. "We performed better in the first half, while they were stronger in the second."

This is a rough explanation of equality. The Spanish coach maintained that his team played a "high-quality game against a strong opponent," but his job is still in jeopardy. His choice to change to a back five formation halfway through the second half only led to Brighton putting on their best performance.

The main takeaway was that both teams approached a series of busy holiday matches as if their main goal was to save their energy for the upcoming games. During the first half, only West Ham's Jarrod Bowen and Brighton's João Pedro seemed eager to energize the match, with Bowen standing out as the one who could actually make an impact. Both players took on defenders, compelling them to make mistakes and creating some tense moments, but João Pedro tended to hold onto the ball for too long, which eventually led to his own loss of focus amid the chaos.

In the 22nd minute, Kaoru Mitoma attempted a volley after receiving a cross from João Pedro, but it was saved. Then, in the 34th minute, Bowen's cross hit Lewis Dunk's ankle and narrowly missed the goal. Those moments were the closest to any significant action in the first half.

Both teams saw their summer signings from Germany making their full league debuts, although neither Brajan Gruda nor Niclas Füllkrug stood out in any significant way. Lopetegui remarked that Füllkrug is “out of sync” and “not at his best.” On the bright side, it’s tough to label the £27 million striker’s performance as disappointing. However, it’s equally challenging to characterize his nearly invisible display any differently. His game ended in the 57th minute when he was substituted for Summerville, and moments later, West Ham found the back of the net.

Brighton scored first in the 51st minute after Estupiñán sent a long cross from the left side, which lured goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski out of position. Dunk managed to gain possession and headed the ball down to Mats Wieffer, who then skillfully placed it into the near corner of the net.

Seven minutes later, the home team leveled the score after Bowen received the ball at the halfway line. He skillfully maneuvered around Dunk and the returning Joël Veltman before taking a shot from just inside the box. Bart Verbruggen managed to deflect it, but it went straight to Mohammed Kudus, who sent it flying back into the net. Kudus celebrated by sitting on a hand-carved stool from Ghana; it was one of the rare moments that truly excited the fans, as they watched a player take a seat on it.

Brighton is now on a streak of five matches without a victory, and West Ham continues to struggle with their inconsistency, sitting in 14th place. Hürzeler referred to the recent weeks as a "cycle of negative experiences and letdowns," emphasizing that things will only improve once they regain their winning mindset and strengthen their defense. Both teams are hoping for a turnaround as the holidays approach, but this match showed little sign of improvement.