By Conor Hogan
**There were plenty of shining lights in West Ham’s 1–1 draw with Manchester United, none less than Konstantinos Mavropanos.**
West Ham drew 1–1 with Manchester United at the London Stadium on Tuesday, with the Hammers once again dropping points from a winning position.
It was a truly frustrating result for the Irons, who probably would have taken a point before the game. However, after holding on to a 1–0 lead for almost the entirety of the second half, Benjamin Šeško robbed West Ham of two points with a clever finish in the 96th of 97 minutes.
Despite the disappointing end to the game, there were still plenty of positives to take from West Ham’s display – one stand-out being the performance of centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos, who produced an excellent defensive showing against Michael Carrick’s side.
The Red Devils were in electric form prior to the encounter in Stratford, winning their previous four games to propel them into the Champions League places. Bryan Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha have all been in great form recently – but so has West Ham’s Greek centre-back.
Mavropanos was everywhere against Manchester United, heading balls clear of danger, making important interceptions and putting in some vital challenges. Tomáš Souček, the scorer of West Ham’s goal, was awarded the Man of the Match award in the stadium, but in my opinion, Mavropanos was the best player on the pitch for either side.
It has been encouraging to see the former Arsenal and Stuttgart defender find form at the London Stadium in recent months. For a long time, many considered Mavropanos a liability – and although much of the criticism aimed at him was probably unfair, the Greek defender always had a mistake in him and has cost the Hammers points on several occasions since his arrival in 2023.
However, since Nuno Espírito Santo’s appointment – as has been the case with many current West Ham players – Mavropanos’ game has improved significantly. While his style of defending can be unorthodox at times, it has proven effective. West Ham are still conceding goals, but they are conceding fewer goals and look far more confident at the back, much of which stems from the big Greek.
The Hammers still need to find a way to stop conceding late on, but Mavropanos’ performance on Tuesday night shows just how far both he and the back line as a whole have come in recent times. Considering many fans wanted to see the back of the Greek international just months ago, he has established himself as a reliable centre-back option for the Irons, and his display against Manchester United was among his very best.