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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late decisive goal for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's chances of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were hit hard as Atalanta came from behind to win in Bergamo.

Both sides entered this fixture with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having won, drawn, and lost to be on ten points.

For extended periods there was very little to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished the captain's delivery.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a threat going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the second half but Atalanta upped the pressure and rightfully levelled when former West Ham United striker nodded home a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the winner late on when the Chelsea defenders retreated from the midfielder, who took full advantage with a driven finish.

Chelsea tried to rescue a draw late on but a superb save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase games remaining.

Atalanta, in contrast, jump up to third, three points clear of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Sequence Persists

This was a deeply frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to secure the top-eight position they require to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

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

The Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with nothing after taking the lead.

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

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

Excessive Rotations Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this match as he continued his policy of rotating players in and out of the first team.

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

The coach will see squad rotation as necessary as he tries to manage players' minutes and challenge both at home and abroad, but he maintained the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for key games.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we made relative to Bournemouth it may be different but it is the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The players who played tonight are the individuals who feature in almost all the matches."

Up Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next European game sees them host Pafos on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

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