Defiant West Ham dig in to harm Man City title hopes and give shot in the arm to relegation fight

Lights, cameras, action: Picture by David Rake

Premier League

West Ham United (1) 1 Mavropanos 35

Manchester City (1) 1 Silva 32

It was not the win that would really have sent extra shivers down Tottenham spines, but here was a precious point for the Hammers which draws them level with the team they most want to overhaul.

They were under the cosh for so much of the game, that it seemed impossible to escape with a point, but they managed it by showing a ton of heart and grit to frustrate Pep Guardiola's men.

A sublime chip from Bernardo Silva from an angle appeared to have set Man City on their way to the three points they needed to keep the pressure on Arsenal following the Gunners' win earlier in the day.

But the Hammers hit back almost immediately when Jarrod Bowen's inswinging corner was met perfectly by Konstantinos Mavropanos' forehead and the ball bounced clearly over the line off the underside of the crossbar.

The irony of a former Arsenal player doing his old side a massive favour was not lost on anyone and would have been appreciated a few miles down the road at the Emirates, where they were probably still celebrating a crucial victory over Everton.

There were bound to be more moments for City and Antoine Semenyo rolled a shot wide when set up by Erling Haaland's square pass and after the interval, Haaland's low shot needed a vital touch from Mads Hermansen to deflect the ball off target.

The normally lethal Norwegian looked a little off colour again though, and he skewed wide from a good position after Jeremy Doku had laid a fine pass back to him. Even a great goalscorer like him can suffer the yips when confidence dips and this is also a City side feeling a little introspective following the midweek mauling at Real Madrid.

The pressure kept up, however, with the Irons forced back to their 18-yard line. They struggled to keep hold of the ball and it kept coming back at them. It looked as if something had to give.

A free-kick from wide out on the West Ham right from Rayan Cherki swerved and dipped towards the far top corner and brushed the underside of the bar - Hermansen getting a glove to the ball which may have been crucial.

The possession stats pointed to total domination from the visitors. The shot count rose to around 20-1. The corners and crosses kept coming in.

It needed bodies on the line. It needed the pressure-relieving runs of the tireless Bowen to make a draw possible. Mavropanos took a Haaland blaster straight in the side of the face.

At the death, Marc Guehi lifted a shot over the bar from inside the six yard box and the yells of relief all around the London Stadium said it all.

A fine result for West Ham and not too shabby a one for the grateful league leaders.

Hammers: (3-4-2-1) Hermansen - Todibo, Mavropanos, Disasi - Wan-Bissaka, Soucek, Matheus Fernandes, Diouf - Bowen (Kante 90+5), Pablo (Magassa 64) - Catsellanos (Traore 74)

Citizens: (4-1-3-2) Donnarumma - Matheus Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, Ait-Nouri (Doku 60) - Rodri - Semenyo (Foden 75), Bernardo Silva (Reijnders 75), O'Reilly - Omar Marmoush (Cherki 60), Haaland