Manchester City Draw with Atalanta After Ederson Injury, Claudio Bravo Red Card
Manchester City will have to wait to seal qualification from Group C of the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League after being held to a 1-1 draw by Atalanta on Wednesday.
It was a costly night for City, who subbed off goalkeeper Ederson because of a minor injury at halftime and saw his replacement Claudio Bravo red-carded for a challenge on Josip Ilicic. The Citizens, who also rued a missed penalty from Gabriel Jesus, ended the night with right-back Kyle Walker tending goal.
Raheem Sterling gave the Citizens a seventh-minute lead at the San Siro, before Mario Pasalic headed past Bravo to equalise for the hosts.
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The stalemate has moved City onto 10 points in the table, but still waiting on qualification ahead of hosting Shakhtar Donetsk at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, November 26.
Slick and intricate football saw City take an early lead when Bernardo Silva threaded a pass through for Gabriel Jesus. The Brazil international executed a deft, first-time flick for Sterling, who didn't waste his chance.
Goals and assists have become common for the versatile winger at this level:
Sterling was at the heart of everything good City produced going forward. The former Liverpool star came close to winning a penalty after being released by De Bruyne five minutes before the break, only for VAR to reveal the foul initially took place outside the box.
It started a bizarre sequence of events that saw Sterling take the ensuing free kick and actually win a spot-kick when a member of the Atalanta wall was flagged for handball. Jesus stepped up to take the penalty but dragged his effort from 12 yards well wide.
City had dominated but had to settle for maintaining a slender lead as the half ended. The worse news was goalkeeper Ederson needing to be withdrawn during the break.
Atalanta's resistance had been tame, but the home side finally mustered a credible attack when Alejandro Gomez crossed for Palasic to head in an equaliser four minutes after the restart.
City needed to respond, but a team missing injured playmaker David Silva was struggling for fluency. The away side's best route to goal became releasing Sterling with direct passing from deep.
Fernandinho played the England international in, but Pierluigi Gollini stood tall. At the other end, Atalanta's biggest threat was carried by Ilicic, with the Slovenian using quick footwork and excellent technique to cause problems.
Ilicic striding through forced Bravo's rash challenge resulting in a red card for the stand-in stopper. The dismissal forced Pep Guardiola into an unusual alternative with right-back Kyle Walker coming off the bench to play between the sticks.
Amid a lengthy delay and scenes of utter chaos, Walker was made to wait to come on while confusion reigned over City substituting Riyad Mahrez. Walker was eventually introduced, and his first action involved gathering a free kick struck by Atalanta sub Ruslan Malinovskiy.
It was the lone moment where Walker was credibly tested. Instead, City's careful passing and high press kept the ball away from their makeshift last line of defence and maintained the club's unbeaten start in the group.
While qualification will have to wait, earning a point in trying circumstances speaks to the depth and mental strength of this squad. Even so, Pep Guardiola will be hoping Ederson can start ahead of mistake-prone Bravo for the crunch trip to Liverpool.
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