An amazing Champions League record was broken by Raheem Sterling, who came off the bench in Arsenal’s dull draw with Atalanta.
The England international came on for the Gunners in the 73rd minute to give them much-needed energy after a dull away performance on Thursday night.
Two brilliant saves by David Raya kept Arsenal from losing face in the tough Champions League start in Italy. He made two great stops to keep Mateo Retegui from scoring after a penalty was given.
The Gunners had to settle for a point, even though Mikel Arteta brought on Sterling, Leandro Trossard, and Jorginho as substitutes.
After the game, the winger did have something to be happy about: he had become the first player in history to play in the league for four different English teams.
Sterling played in his first Champions League game, a thrilling 2-1 win over Ludogorets in September 2014, which was sealed by Steven Gerrard’s late goal.
Mario Balotelli gave the Reds the lead in the 82nd minute, but Dani Abalo tied the game in the 91st minute, which seemed to break Liverpool’s hearts at Anfield.
Brendan Rodgers’ team had a disappointing season in the tournament. They only got five points and couldn’t get out of their group.
Sterling finally moved to Manchester City the next season, and his first game for the team was in the Champions League, where they lost 2-1 to Juventus at the Etihad.
The English star was taken off after 71 minutes and Kevin De Bruyne came on. Manuel Pellegrini’s team lost a one-goal lead. The team won their group and made it to the semi-finals, but Real Madrid beat them and eliminated them.
Sterling ended up playing in 68 Champions League games for Man City, which is a lot. He played in 339 games for the club overall and scored 131 goals.
The forward’s first game for Chelsea in Europe’s top league was an embarrassing 1-0 loss at Dinamo Zagreb. He was substituted after 75 minutes, and that was the game that got Thomas Tuchel fired.
After that bad game, the West London team came back to win their group and make it to the quarterfinals, where they lost to Real Madrid.
Sterling’s brief performance last night didn’t do much to change the pace of a dull European match.
Arsenal played poorly at the Gewiss Stadium. They had a hard time getting into attacking positions, and they only managed two shots on goal. In the new league system, they should have gotten at least a point.
Arsenal is 16th in the league after one game, and Sterling’s old team, Manchester City, is in an important match against them. The game in Bergamo was forgettable, and the team’s attacking flow is a worry.