Champions League Update: Atlanta hold Manchester City 1-1; Bayern book last-16 spot

The ball touches the arm of Atalanta's Slovenian midfielder Josip Ilicic (2ndL Top) after a free kick shot by Manchester City's English midfielder Raheem Sterling (not in picture), leading to a penalty decision during the UEFA Champions League Group C football match Atalanta Bergamo vs Manchester City on November 6, 2019 at the San Siro stadium in Milan. (Photo by Marco Bertorello / AFP)


Goal from Mario Pasalic helped Atlanta hold Manchester City to a goal apiece at a packed San Siro Stadium on Thursday.

Raheem Sterling continued his form to give the visitors an early lead in a match, where Pep Guardiola’s side experienced contrasting halves.

In just the 7th minute of the game, Gabriel Jesus showed great awareness to back heel Bernardo Silva’s incisive pass perfectly into Sterling’s path, who stroked the ball into the bottom right corner to put the guests in the driving seat.

City effortlessly dominated the first half, but Gabriel Jesus missed a penalty to extend the lead and this implied that City had to remain contented with a scoreline of 1-0 by the half time.

However, Atalanta emerged as a different side after the break.

In the 49th minute, Mario Pasalic crashed a header past Claudio Bravo to equalise. After a terrific cross from Alejandro Dario Gomez, Palisic, who was totally unmarked in the box, powered the ball with a bullet header to chance the scenario.

Meanwhile, City struggled to replicate the first-half dominance. Though Kyle Walker’s appearance between the sticks made for a nervy final 10 minutes, the guests ended up with one point.

It is to note that Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson was replaced at half time with a muscle problem, before substitute Bravo was sent off in the final 10 minutes.

On Wednesday, riding on goals from Robert Lewandowski and Ivan Perisic at the Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich sealed a place for the round of 16.

Bayern Munich’s Croatian midfielder Ivan Perisic (C) celebrates scoring the 2-0 goal with his team-mates German forward Thomas Mueller and Polish forward Robert Lewandowski (R) during the UEFA Champions League Group B football match FC Bayern Munich v Olympiakos in Munich, southern Germany, on November 6, 2019. (Photo by Matthias Balk / dpa / AFP)

Lewandowski drew the first blood in the 69th minute, whereas Ivan Perisic sealed the victory in the 89th minute with the second and final goal of the match.