Manchester City were forced to settle for a point against Atalanta on Wednesday night after being reduced to 10-men and needing Kyle Walker to play in goal.
Claudio Bravo replaced Ederson in goal at half-time but the Chilean was then sent off, leaving City with no goalkeeper available. Walker stepped in and did what was required of him to earn City a point and edge them closer to the knockout stages.
City wasted no time in taking the lead at Atalanta’s adopted Champions League home of the San Siro.
Silva threaded a through ball to Jesus in the penalty area, who instantly flicked inside to Sterling to slot into the bottom corner first time after just seven minutes.
Guardiola’s side had a great chance to double their advantage in Milan.
Sterling saw his free-kick strike the hand of Josip Ilicic in the wall, which referee Aleksei Kulbakov dismissed.
But VAR stepped in and, after reviewing the decision on the monitor, gave the spot-kick to visitors, but Jesus dragged his tame penalty wide.
City suffered a blow ahead of their Premier League crunch with Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday as Ederson was replaced by Claudio Bravo at half-time.
And Atalanta were level four minutes after the restart. Alejandro Gomez pulled Nicolas Otamendi out of position before swinging a superb cross into the penalty area for on-loan Chelsea midfielder Mario Pasalic to head home.
City were left off the hook when a teasing Gomez corner found Berat Djimsiti at the near post but his glancing header bounced just wide.
Things got from bad to worse on the goalkeeping front for City.
Ilicic latched onto a through ball and beyond the visiting defence before Bravo raced outside the area.
The forward fell under a challenge from the goalkeeper, with Kulbakov brandishing the red card.
Bravo was adamant Ilicic dived and replays suggested the forward left his foot in order to make contact before VAR decided to make the decision stand.
After a lengthy delay, Kyle Walker came on for Mahrez wearing Bravo’s shirt and managed to keep out Ruslan Malinovsky’s resultant free-kick.
More to follow.
Claudio Bravo is shown a red card as the Manchester City substitute was sent off in the Champions league tie with Atalanta
Josip Ilicic was brought down by the Chilean goalkeeper as he ran through on goal, forcing Kyle Walker to go in goal
Kyle Walker was brought on in goal and did what was required to ensure City left Italy with a vital point in the group stage
Walker was called into action immediately but did well to get hold of a powerful free-kick at the second attempt
Raheem Sterling celebrates scoring the opening goal of the game in Milan as he put City ahead with a fine finish
The winger slotted home from inside the box to give Pep Guardiola’s side the lead in the group game at San Siro
Atalanta were level four minutes after the restart when Chelsea midfielder Mario Pasalic fired a header into the back of the net
Claudio Bravo, on for Ederson at half-time, was helpless as the midfielder planted a powerful header in at the far post
Pep Guardiola (L) talks with Atalanta’s coach Gian Piero Gasperini before the game got underway in Milan on Wednesday
Papu Gomez, Bernardo Silva and Remo Freuler go for a header as they look to regain possession during the early exchanges
Sterling is congratulated by team-mates Riyad Mahrez (L) and Nicolas Otamendi (R) after continuing his fine scoring form
Kevin De Bruyne was a menace throughout as he looked to double City’s lead inside the first 30 minutes of the game
Referee Aleksey Kulbakov gestures for a Manchester City penalty after a VAR review spotted a blatant handball by Atalanta
Sterling saw his free-kick strike the hand of Atalanta’s Josip Ilicic in the wall, which the referee initially dismissed
It was an awful spot kick from Gabriel Jesus though as the Brazilian sent the ball well wide of the left-hand post
Riyad Mahrez could have doubled Manchester City’s lead but saw his powerful shot from distance saved by the goalkeeper
Pasalic celebrates scoring their equaliser with Alejandro Gomez, who played a crucial role in creating the Italian side’s goal
Manchester City duo Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho react after conceding an equaliser, despite dominating the first half
Atalanta fans go wild in the stands as they made the trip from Bergamo to Milan to watch their side in European action
The impressive Ilicic tries to take on Gundogan as Atalanta looked the more likely to score a winner than City did
Guardiola introduced Sergio Aguero off the bench with 20 minutes remaining as City went in search of a late winner
Sterling got close to giving City the lead but he was stopped by a superb tackle from one Atalanta defender at the byline
Things quickly turned against City when Bravo cynically brought down Ilicic as he ran through on goal for Atalanta
City did extremely well to keep the ball as far away from their goal as possible while Walker was between the posts