Brighton’s Leandro Trossard denied by VAR then pegs back West Ham
Date Published Sat 17 Aug 2019 18.44 BST

Graham Potter backed Leandro Trossard to get even better after the winger’s sparkling Brighton debut. Trossard, the £18m signing from Genk, secured a draw soon after they fell behind to Javier Hernández’s strike.

The 24-year-old had a goal ruled out by VAR and missed an easy chance but got off the mark with a fine shot from the edge of the box.

Potter said: “He linked the game well. It was his debut in the Premier League and he did what we asked him to do. “He got in the box for two goals – one disallowed – and had another good chance as well. It was a good, solid debut for him and, like the team, he’ll get better over time.”

West Ham had lost both their previous Premier League visits to the Amex Stadium and should have lost this one, too, with Brighton dominant throughout.

Trossard was celebrating a debut goal in the 27th minute until VAR ruled it out with Dan Burn, who had crossed for the Belgian to volley home, caught offside in the buildup. It was the correct decision but the delay was bordering on the ridiculous. Both teams had lined up ready for the restart by the time Anthony Taylor got word in his ear that VAR had spotted the infringement.

“It’s not very pleasant, it changes the atmosphere in the stadium from euphoria to disappointment,” Potter said. “It’s something we need to deal with.”

West Ham did not have a shot on target until Manuel Lanzini sent Hernández through on goal to fire them ahead just after the hour.

The lead lasted three minutes, Trossard pouncing on Issa Diop’s poor clearance to beat Lukasz Fabianski.

Both sides had chances to win and Manuel Pellegrini said a draw was a fair result. It was at least an improvement on their 5-0 defeat at home to Manchester City. “It was important not to lose a second game in a row,” he said. “I made changes because I wasn’t happy with last week.”

Pellegrini said he expects Sébastien Haller and Felipe Anderson to be fit soon.