Manchester City were left nine points behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race after being held by battling West Ham, who moved out of the relegation zone for the first time since December.

In a match largely low on quality, the flashpoint came with two goals in the space of four minutes.

First, City captain Bernardo Silva seemed to have provided the springboard his team needed with a moment of skill and impudence in the 31st minute.

He carried the ball into the box from the left and, spotting home keeper Mads Hermansen straying off his line anticipating a cross, chipped the ball towards the far post.

Whether the Portuguese midfielder was aiming for striker Erling Haaland or the net, the outcome was the opener.

But the hosts struck back just four minutes later with their only attempt on goal when a Jarrod Bowen corner was met with a towering header by Konstantinos Mavropanos.

The ex-Arsenal defender was brought in to shore up the Hammers defence with a five-man backline, but provided a crucial intervention at the other end with his first club goal in three years - helped by City keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who flapped at the cross.

Antoine Semenyo flashed a low shot narrowly wide just before the break, before Hermansen also did brilliantly to deny Haaland one-on-one just before the hour.

In a flurry of late chances at London Stadium, substitute Tijjani Reijnders had a free-kick touched on to the crossbar and Marc Guehi fired over from close range in added time.

But it was a tepid performance from City who looked low on confidence following their 3-0 midweek Champions League beating at Real Madrid.

West Ham, meanwhile, moved out of the relegation zone for the first time in 102 days after just their fourth point from their last 21 league meetings with City.

Nottingham Forest, who host Fulham on Sunday, dropped into the bottom three.

Guardiola said on Friday the Premier League title race would be "over" if his side dropped points at West Ham.

And Arsenal's win over Everton with two late goals intensified the pressure on City.

With Guardiola glowering from the stands as he served the first of a two-game touchline ban, his team jogged their way to an unhelpful point.

They lined up with a two-man attack, for the ninth time in 11 games, but neither Haaland nor Omar Marmoush impressed.

Haaland - who has scored 11 Premier League goals against West Ham, more than any other opponent - was again blunt.

He has scored just twice since January, and seems unsuited to the change in tactics which has crowbarred in Semenyo, also subdued here.

Whether it was Guardiola or assistant Pep Lijnders - an energetic presence in the technical area, with earbuds in to get instructions from the boss - that decided the half-time change, City switched to a 4-3-3.

Marmoush made way for Jeremy Doku out wide, while Cherki replaced Rayan Ait-Nouri with Nico O'Reilly, who started in midfield, reverting to left-back.

City were better as they pushed for the winner to revive their title hopes. But clear-cut chances were thin on the ground - and when they did materialise, they did not take them and Hermansen made two good saves.

City have lost just one of their last 18 league games but have dropped 10 points from winning positions in that run, through draws with Chelsea, Brighton, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest and now West Ham.

If they had held onto those leads, they would be top.

For the first time in many months, there is something approaching optimism around London Stadium.

West Ham are into the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time in a decade where they will host Leeds, out of the bottom three and buoyed by the possibility of rivals Tottenham dropping into the relegation places on Sunday should results go in their favour.

It is far from perfect - a 16th-minute protest, featuring red cards, by fans against the ownership of David Sullivan and Karren Brady, proved that.

But on the field they impressively roused themselves after falling behind, forcing a corner and converting from it with their only shot of the match.

West Ham's slow start, and lack of more attempts on goal, perhaps owed much to the absence of Crysencio Summerville, who has been sidelined with a calf injury.

The Dutch forward has seven goals in his past 13 games and Nuno Espirito Santo's side struggle in attack without him, having won none of their six league games this year when he hasn't played.

But they were resolute in defence, with an impressive showing too from left wing-back El Hadji Malick Diouf as he curbed the threat of Semenyo on the right flank.

They dealt well with City's tactical switch-ups too, Nuno quickly introducing Soungoutou Magassa in place of forward Pablo to match the visitors' change to a three-man midfield.

At the end it was all hands to the pump, but the Hammers held out and have earned 15 points from their last nine games - survival form.

Their run-in is tough - they visit Aston Villa next, face Arsenal at home, and host fellow strugglers Leeds on the final day - but, for now, there is the unfamiliar feeling of hope around London Stadium.

Manchester City do not play again in the Premier League until Sunday, 12 April, when they visit Chelsea (16:30 GMT). Their next match is on Tuesday, 17 March in their Champions League last-16 second leg against Real Madrid (20:00 GMT), where they hope to overturn a 3-0 deficit.

West Ham visit Aston Villa in the Premier League next Sunday, 22 March (14:15 GMT).