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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were hit hard as Atalanta overturned a deficit to win in Bergamo.

Both sides entered this match with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this season's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to be on ten points.

For extended periods there was very little to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta remained a danger going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker causing issues for the defence.

James shot wide in the second half but the home team raised the pressure and rightfully equalised when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they got the decisive strike late on when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who took full advantage with a driven shot.

Chelsea attempted to salvage a draw late on but a excellent stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The result means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two group stage matches left to play.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, jump up to third place, three points clear of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Run Persists

This was a extremely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to achieve the top-eight finish they require to avoid the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be departing with nothing after securing the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this extends Chelsea's concerning sequence of form in all competitions.

Since beating Barcelona 3-0 at the close of November they are now without a win in their last four matches.

Excessive Changes Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five rotations for this game as he persisted with his run of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

The rotations here came after he made the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will view squad rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' minutes and compete both at home and in Europe, but he maintained the core group of players remains the same for important fixtures.

"I believe tonight [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham Hotspur, FC Barcelona, and Arsenal," he commented.

"If you look at the five changes that we made compared to Bournemouth it is different but it involves the eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The players who played this evening are the individuals who feature in almost all the games."

What's Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next Champions League game sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.