3 takeaways from closely fought draw between West Ham and Manchester City

Enner Valencia and Sergio Aguero bagged a brace each as West Ham United and Manchester City played out a 2-2 stalemate at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday.

Overall, the result was a fair reflection as the away side struggled to exact revenge on the Hammers after they won 2-1 in Manchester earlier in the campaign, but both clubs had chances to nick all three points at the death.

The draw brings West Ham to within six points of the Champions League places, while City moves into second courtesy of a greater goal difference than Arsenal, who plays Chelsea on Sunday.

Here are the three main takeaways from the meeting between West Ham and Manchester City:

Just when you think City's backline has sorted itself out ...

Over-enthusiasm from Fabian Delph, who was quite rightly preferred ahead of Fernandinho and Fernando given his fine form of late, and lethargy from Yaya Toure were at fault for Valencia's opener, but for the Ecuadorian's second, the finger of blame points to an all-too familiar area of the pitch.

Nicolas Otamendi is a talented player except for his insistence to lunge in for a crunching tackle - and when he decides to take a breather. The 30-time Argentinian international's habit of switching off was highlighted when Michail Antonio hurled a quick throw-in in the vague direction of Valencia. To let it bounce twice before the striker poked beyond Joe Hart is, for a £32-million defender, atrocious.

Whether City can recover from the long-term calf injury to its stoic leader Vincent Kompany remains to be seen, but Otamendi, Martin Demichelis, and the nervy Eliaquim Mangala don't appear to be the foundations of a title-winning campaign.

The two-straight clean sheets preceding this tie were a false dawn: the middle of defence still needs plenty of work.

West Ham certainly capable of top-five finish

In Dimitri Payet, West Ham boasts the most talented player it has had in years. His creativity is well documented after his 16 assists in Ligue 1 last season, but his footwork is incredibly slick. He embarrassed Otamendi (which is admittedly not too difficult) and £54-million man Kevin De Bruyne (a bit harder) with his tight, speedy control over the course of the fixture.

And Valencia has stepped up. His double this weekend makes it four goals in his last three outings. The forward ingratiated himself to the Hammers' support long ago with his fantastic work ethic, but with goals added to his arsenal of talents West Ham shouldn't bemoan the losses of Andy Carroll, Diafra Sakho, and Manuel Lanzini as much as some anticipated.

There is quality and depth in Slaven Bilic's side. Manchester United's loss at home to Southampton earlier in the day showed up the Red Devils' inadequacies and the case why West Ham looks likely to leapfrog them into fifth place soon.

Iheanacho offers unpredictability, incisiveness

With that proud, pigeon-chested run, Raheem Sterling often has the gleam of a classic Jaguar, albeit one navigating the Scottish Highlands with no snow tires. He can be smooth while appearing a bit disorientated.

In the case of teenager Kelechi Iheanacho, his movement doesn't appear to be as graceful but it is irritating to his opponents and ultimately finds its way through the traffic - like a scooter beeping its horn as it swerves in and out of a jam.

His directness after his 76th-minute introduction made the link between midfield and attack much stronger, while giving Aguero both greater freedom and service in the final stages. His work before Aaron Cresswell's error for equaliser was instrumental.

The Nigerian is incredibly raw, but the way his play often lifts that of those around him further strengthens his bid for a more regular role in Manuel Pellegrini's squad.

This is his opportunity, with Wilfried Bony continuing to be sidelined with a calf problem.