Moyes thrilled with battling Irons

David Moyes was thrilled to take a point from Manchester City in one of the most dramatic games of the season on Sunday.

The Hammers were sensational against Pep Guardiola’s side, particularly in the first half, and had a 2-0 lead going into half-time thanks to a Jarrod Bowen brace.

City, who knew that a win would essentially confirm them as Premier League champions, came out revitalised in the second half and managed to pull the game back to 2-2, thanks to a Jack Grealish strike and an unfortunate Vlad Coufal own goal.

Riyad Mahrez could have made it 3-2 to City in the 85th minute after Craig Dawson conceded a penalty but his spot kick was saved brilliantly by Lukasz Fabianski.

The result has confirmed the Hammers’ qualification for Europe next season and they remain in with a chance to finish sixth, although Manchester United would have to lose to Crystal Palace on the final day for that to be possible.

And Moyes was delighted with the performance of his players as they helped blow the title race wide open. City are now four points ahead of Liverpool, who have a game in hand this week.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, the gaffer said: “I couldn’t believe the way that Manchester City played in the first half and how we played and that we were 2-0 up – they were so good. They had so much of the ball. We knew we wouldn’t have much of it and we’d suffer. We scored two really good goals and it gave us a chance to try and hang onto it.

“It is a great result for us. We’d have taken a point before the game because we were playing against an incredibly good team – I always thought we’d be in the game but they were so good with the ball and it was a job to stop them only scoring two to be honest with you.

“I wanted to challenge and be around fourth or fifth this season so I was disappointed that we’ve dropped off. But we’ve got a great group of players and their resilience – they showed it today with all the blocks they put in.”