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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a late decisive goal for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were hit hard as their Italian opponents came from behind to triumph in Bergamo.

The two teams entered this fixture with matching records in the league phase of this season's tournament, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to sit on 10 points.

For much of the game there was very little to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the first half when the Brazilian finished Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a danger going forward, with ex- Premier League attacker creating problems for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but the home team increased the intensity and justly equalised when former West Ham United striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta got the winner in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a powerful strike.

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

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two group stage games remaining.

Atalanta, in contrast, climb up to third place, three points clear of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Continues

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

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta seized the moment.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with no points after taking the lead.

But the wider issue is that this perpetuates Chelsea's concerning run of results in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Changes Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five changes for this match as he continued his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

The rotations here came after he made the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will see squad rotation as vital as he attempts to handle players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he insisted the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for key fixtures.

"I believe tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, and Arsenal," he stated.

"If you see the five alterations that we did compared to the previous game it is different but it is the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The ones who played tonight are the ones who feature in almost all the games."

What's Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them host Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, host Athletic Club at the same time.