Manchester City 5-1 Atalanta: 5 Talking Points as 5-star City dismantle hapless Atalanta | UEFA Champions League 2019-20
A brace from Sergio Aguero and hat-trick from Raheem Sterling helped Manchester City waltz past Atalanta in their Champions League Group C encounter.
Atalanta started the game quickly, carving out a couple of great chances in the first half. However, the lack of an end product meant they failed to pull away from the hosts. After going behind to a Ruslan Malinovskyi penalty, Manchester City hit back in spectacular fashion with a couple of quick goals.
They carried that momentum into the second half, terrorizing the Atalanta defence and churning out a whole host of chances.
Sterling continued his fine run of form, netting a second-half hat-trick to cap off what was a stellar display from the 24-year-old. With the win, the Sky Blues extend their lead at the top of their group to five points, while all but sealing Atalanta's fate in the competition as well.
On that note, here's a look at five of the biggest talking points from City's 5-1 victory over Atalanta.
#1 One half, two penalties, three goals
A pulsating first half was punctuated by two penalties, one awarded to each team. Shortly before the half-hour mark, Josip Ilicic was brought down in the box by a clumsy and rather silly challenge from Fernandinho. Ruslan Malinovskyi stepped up and sent Ederson the wrong way, prompting cheers from the tiny travelling contingent.
However, their joy was shortlived as, following City's equaliser just six minutes later, Andrea Masiello lunged in on Raheem Sterling, sending the Englishman to the turf and leaving the referee with no option other than to point to the spot.
Sergio Aguero made no mistake, netting his second goal of the night and propelling City into the lead in a half that the visitors dominated.