West Ham United have moved into first position in the Premier League table courtesy of a 3-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.

James Ward-Prowse sent the Hammers ahead in the 19th minute before Jarrod Bowen and then Michail Antonio struck to make it 3-0 to the visitors just past the hour.

Brighton netted themselves in the 81st minute through Pascal Gross, but West Ham survived some late pressure to move onto seven points in the table, enough to move above Tottenham Hotspur to the summit.

West Ham had the first opportunity of the match in the second minute, with Lucas Paqueta finding space in an advanced area, but the Brazilian fired his effort over the crossbar.

Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen was then called into action in the seventh minute to keep out a strike from Antonio, who had broken behind the home side's defence.

Billy Gilmour had the home side's first attempt in the 16th minute, but the midfielder's effort from distance was always moving wide of the post.

West Ham made the breakthrough in the 19th minute of the contest, with Ward-Prowse managing to convert from close range after his initial attempt was blocked; Antonio latched onto a loose back-pass before rolling a cross into his teammate, who netted his first goal for his new side.

Brighton came close to levelling two minutes later when Evan Ferguson struck towards the bottom corner, but Hammers goalkeeper Alphonse Areola was on hand to make a smart save.

The Seagulls put the pressure on in the latter stages of the first period, with Solly March having a free kick deflected wide in stoppage time at the end of the opening half.

© Reuters

Areola made a smart save to keep out a header from Ferguson in the 47th minute, before Kaoru Mitoma fired over at the far post, with Brighton pushing for a leveller.

Brighton had a shout for a penalty in the 51st minute when Paqueta barged Pervis Estupinan to the ground inside the penalty box, but the referee was not interested and VAR agreed.

Bowen missed the target down the other end in the 53rd minute, before the home side's goalkeeper made an excellent save to tip an effort from Emerson Palmieri over the crossbar.

West Ham did manage to double their lead just before the hour, though, with Bowen picking out the bottom corner with a clever finish after a counter-attack ended with Said Benrahma delivering into the Englishman.

The Hammers then made it 3-0 in the 63rd minute, with Antonio smashing the ball into the bottom corner of the net after collecting a pass from Bowen.

Areola smartly denied Gross in the 66th minute, before Antonio missed the chance to make it 4-0 when he fired past the home side's post in the 71st minute.

Gross got his name on the scoresheet in the 81st minute, picking out the bottom corner from distance, which saw him become Brighton's top goalscorer in the Premier League with 27.

Areola made a smart save to keep out a strike from Joel Veltman in the 87th minute, before producing an even better stop to deny Ferguson in stoppage time, with West Ham surviving some late pressure to win 3-1.

David Moyes's side will return to league action next Friday away to Luton Town, while Brighton will be bidding to return to winning ways when they host Newcastle United next Saturday.