West Ham United played out a 1-1 draw with title chasing Manchester City on Saturday night, securing a huge point in their survival fight. Built on a superb defensive display, the Hammers held of waves of City attacks to keep the opposition from scoring the winner they craved.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side put in maximum effort to secure the point, putting bodies on the line as they defended their goal. The draw took West Ham out of the bottom three briefly and now only leaves them in the relegation zone solely on goal difference.
The Hammers boss changed to a back three heading into the match, utilising the three central defenders who have been so good for the Irons in 2026. Konstantinos Mavropanos, Axel Disasi and Jean-Clair Todibo all started putting in excellent performances across 90 minutes.
Mavropanos was the one of the three that stood out. The big Greek headed home the equalizer from a Jarrod Bowen cross and put his body-literally-on the line to keep the likes of Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo from scoring for Manchester City.
West Ham United’s Konstantinos Mavropanos Team of the Week appearance
Whilst many at West Ham have praised him and his defensive counterparts for their performances. Pundits in the wider community have as well, with Troy Deeney putting Mavropanos in his Team of the Week for the BBC’s MOTD.
Deeney praised the defender’s attitude and commitment to his team’s fight, including the 28-year-old’s old school attitude to defending.
“He was a beast against Manchester City. He put his face in front of the ball when Haaland blasted it at him from five yards. In the age where everyone turns their back, he is an old-school centre-back. And he scored with his team’s only shot of the game.”
Mavropanos returned the team in the FA Cup win over Brentford, after being replaced by Todibo for the win at Fulham. The 28-year-old netted the winning penalty in the Cup and kept his place for the game on Saturday night.
Nuno’s faith in the defender was rewarded as the Greek international put on another top performance to keep West Ham‘s momentum going in their survival hunt this season.
