Atalanta v Manchester City: Champions League – live!

Peep! The teams go in for their half-time refreshments with ManchesterCity an excellent Raheem Sterling goal to the good. They should be a lot further ahead, but several missed chances, not least a dreadful penalty by Gabriel Jesus, means Atalanta need not be too disheartened as they try to claw something back in the second half.

45+1 min: Free-kick for Atalanta in a good position right in line with the right edge of the City penalty area. Ilicic takes it and the ball is deflected out for a corner, which Cancelo heads clear.

44 min: Some house-keeping: Illicic was booked for handling the ball to give away that penalty. As his team-mates jumped to try and block Sterling’s free-kick, he turned side-on and put his arms out, only for the ball to strike them.

Gabriel Jesus misses with an atrocious effort. He rolls the ball a yard wide of the left upright, but even if his effort had been on target, it was so weak that Atalanta goalkeeper Gollini had it covered.

41 min: Atalanta form a defensive wall, which refuses to retreat behind the white line sprayed in the grass by the referee. Raheem Sterling takes the free-kick and fires it into the wall. It’s blocked by Josip Ilicic’s arms, as he turns his back to the ball. The ref checks his pitchside monitor and awards City a penalty.

After a VAR consultation, the penalty is overturned and it’s a free-kick right on the edge of the area instead. Toloi is booked.

Raheem Sterling is brought down by Rafael Toloi with a foul that began outside the penalty area. The referee awards a penalty.

37 min: A rare poor touch by Raheem Sterling in the centre-circle gifts possession to Atalanta, who are plugging away gamely.

35 min: More slick and mesmerising build-up play leads to Riyad Mahrez shooting low and hard for the bottom corner. Pierluigi Gollini gets down to save well, although I suspect the goal might have been chalked off if Mahrez had scored, as Jesus was offside and interfering with play.

32 min: Sterling squares the ball for Bernardo Silva who is loitering with intent about seven yards out from the Atalanta goal. The pass is slightly wayward and Palomino is able to shepherd it to safety, while holding off Silva

29 min: City almost double their lead with one of their trademark goals. They get in behind Atalanta and Kevin De Bruyne pulls the ball back into the penalty area from the angle of six-yard box and byline. Sterling shapes to pull the trigger but is denied by Jose Luis Palomino who makes a timely last-ditch block.

26 min: Berat Djimsiti is booked for dragging out of Riyad Mahrez as, not for the first time this evening, the Manchester City winger galloped past the defender.

25 min: Ilkay Gundogan plays the ball out wide to Mahrez, who pulls it across the edge of the Atalanta six-yard box. Sterling had read his intention and made a lung-busting run to try to convert at the far post, but the ball was too far ahead of him.

24 min: Palomino almost makes a pig’s ear of trying to defend a Mendy pass towards Sterling in the penalty area, but recovers in time to hack clear.

22 min: Atalanta are doing reasonably well here, despite being a goal down and being dominated in the possession stakes. One gets the felling, however, that Manchester City are taking it pretty easy on them and could move through the gears pretty quickly should the need arise.

20 min: Ederson plays it long to Raheem Sterling, who controls the inch-perfect pass expertly, beginning another phase of possession for Manchester City. They win a free-kick and then a corner, when a defender hooks the ball off Jesus’s foot and out of play.

18 min: Benjamin Mendy is penalised for handball as he controls the ball with his arm just inside his own half.

16 min: Gabriel Jesus is bundled over about 30 metres from the Atalanta goal and appeals for a free-kick, but doesn’t get one from Aleksei Kulbakov, tonight’s referee.

15 min: Atalanta attack, with Illicic controlling the ball beautifully in the inside right channel before playing it inside to Remo Freuler on the edge of the penalty area. City clear.

14 min: Bernardo Silva plays the ball wide to Riyad Mahrez as Manchester City continue to turn the screw on the edge of the final third. They’re starving Atalanta of possession and forcing the Italian side to feed off scraps.

12 min: City attack down the right, with Joao Cancelo pinging a pass towards Gabriel Jesus. His touch is poor and the ball goes out for a throw-in.

11 min: Gabriel Jesus leaps to try and head a Riyad Mahrez corner goalwards. The delivery is a mite too high and he is unable to get much purchase on the ball. Atalanta are seriously under the cosh here.

9 min: Kevin De Bruyn whips a cross from the right in towards Gabriel Jesus, who is a couple of yards from the penalty spot. His touch is poor and allows Atalanta to clear. With a better connection, he could have volleyed home for a spectacular second.

8 min: Raheem Sterling passes wide and left to Bernardo Silva and gallops forward. Silva picks out Gabriel Jesus on the left side of the penalty area and he back-heels the ball into Sterling’s path with a deft no-look back-heel. Sterling takes the ball in his stride and curls it around the despairing dive of Pierluigi Gollini and inside the upright.

Raheem Sterling opens the scoring for City with a beauty.

4 min: Atalanta right wing-back Hans Hatenboer volleys into the side-netting after ghosting in at the Manchester City far post and getting on to the end of a Timothy Castagne cross from deep. That was a decent chance.

3 min: Atalanta enjoy a spell of possession, which comes to an abrupt end when Papu Gomez is fouled by Gabriel Jesus.

2 min: Ederson shapes to kick the ball long, then is (mildly) panicked into passing short to his right as he’s pressed by Josip Ilicic.

1 min: Atalanta kick off, their players wearing blue and black striped shirts, black shorts and black socks. Manchester City’s players are wearing that luminous yellow and orange kit that makes them look like ice lollies.

Not long now: With their own stadium not up to Champions League scratch, Atalanta’s players make their way out on to the San Siro sward alongside their opponents. There’s a crowd of about 30,000 in the stadium, who are all in fine voice as the Champions League anthem blares out over the PA. City will guarantee themselves top spot in Group C if they beat Atalanta and Dinamo Zagreb draw with Shakhtar Donetsk in the evening’s other game.

Pep rings the changes: With a Premier League game against Liverpool to come on Sunday afternoon, Manchester City’s manager has made five changes from the side that laboured to victory against Southampton last Saturday.

Benjamin Mendy, João Cancelo and Nicolas Otamendi come into defence, while Riyad Mahrez is in for the injured David Silva. Bernardo Silva is expected to fill in for his namesake, with Mahrez lining up on the right of a front three. Sergio Aguero makes way for Gabriel Jesus, who will play as the central striker.

Atalanta: Gollini, Toloi, Djimsiti, Palomino, Hateboer, de Roon, Freuler, Castagne, Pasalic, Gomez, Ilicic.

Subs: Kjaer, Masiello, Muriel, Guilherme Arana, Malinovsky, Sportiello, Barrow.

Man City: Ederson, Joao Cancelo, Fernandinho, Otamendi, Mendy, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus, Sterling.

Subs: Doyle, Bravo, Walker, Stones, Aguero, Jose Angelino, Garcia.

Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (Belarus)

Having thrashed Atalanta at the Etihad Stadium in the last round of group games, Manchester City will be hoping to register another win and book their place in the knockout stages with two matches to spare. While Atalanta have yet to get off the mark in the group, having conceded 11 goals in their three defeats so far, they can still technically qualify.

Fifth in the Serie A table, eight points off leaders Juventus, Atalanta are having a decent season on the domestic front, but come into tonight’s match with just one win from their past five games. Kick-off at the San Siro is 8pm (GMT), but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.