Raheem Sterling's Hat-Trick Leads Manchester City Past Atalanta 5-1 in UCL

Manchester City won for a third time in a row in Group C of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League after beating Atalanta 5-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.

Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick, while Sergio Aguero netted a brace on a night when City initially fell behind to a Josip Ilicic penalty, lost Rodri to injury and saw Phil Foden sent off for two yellow cards in a rare start.

Even so, beating the Serie A outfit has put the Citizens in a commanding position to qualify ahead of schedule with only three group games left.

The visitors played a wide-open game in Italy and showed no fear during the early stages. Atalanta were having success targeting City full-backs Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy, with the latter notably struggling.

Mendy was booked after a poor first touch first him into a mistimed lunge into Ilicic to try to win the ball back. He wasn't just careless in possession, Mendy also suffered lapses in concentration defensively, failing to react to the run of Timothy Castagne and letting the defender have a free header that sailed just over the bar.

Problems continued for Mendy when he gave the ball away again, this time in front of his own area on 26 minutes. Ilicic stole in and drew a foul from Fernandinho to earn a penalty he converted.

City had paid a heavy price for a sluggish start, but the talents of Sterling and Aguero proved enough to spare the hosts' blushes. Sterling crossed for Aguero to equalise on 34 minutes and then won a spot-kick the Argentinian stepped up to convert seven minutes before the break.

Sterling scored twice after the restart to put City in a commanding position and join Aguero on double figures for the campaign:

The hat-trick goal came on 69 minutes when the former Liverpool man ghosted in to apply the finishing touch to a precise cross from fellow winger Riyad Mahrez. It meant Sterling joined some select company among Premier League greats who transferred their prolific form to the big stage in Europe:

Sterling wasted a great chance to net his fourth after being played through by the impressive Foden. However, City's main man uncharacteristically pushed his effort wide.

Sadly for Foden, his night came to an ignominious end when he was dismissed on 82 minutes after a second booking. Fouls on Ruslan Malinovskiy and Marten de Roon were enough to send the 19-year-old packing.

It was a down note for Foden, but City had already done more than enough to win with room to spare. Sterling and Aguero are both playing at a world-class level, good enough to eventually bring the trophy to this club for the first time.

What's Next?

City host Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday, while Atalanta return to action in the Italian top flight for a home game against Udinese on Sunday.