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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker nets a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's hopes of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta fought back to claim victory in Bergamo.

The two teams entered this fixture with matching records in the league phase of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to sit on 10 points.

For large parts there was not much to choose between them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian turned in Reece James' cross.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a threat going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the defence.

James fired wide in the after the break but the home team raised the pressure and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the winner late on when the Chelsea defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a powerful shot.

Chelsea attempted to salvage a point late on but a brilliant stop by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two group stage matches remaining.

Atalanta, meanwhile, climb up to third place, three points ahead of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Sequence Continues

This was a hugely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them in a strong position to achieve the top eight position they need to avoid the lottery of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents took full advantage.

The Italian side are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with no points after taking the lead.

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

Since defeating Barcelona 3-0 at the close of November they are now winless in their last four matches.

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

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

The rotations here came after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

The coach will view squad rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' workloads and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he insisted the central contingent of players remains the same for key games.

"I think in this match [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 changes that we made compared to the previous game it may be different but it involves the eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The players who took to the field this evening are the individuals playing almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next Champions League fixture sees them welcome Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, host Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.