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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late decisive goal for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were hit hard as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to triumph in Bergamo.

Both sides went into this fixture with matching records in the league phase of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to be on 10 points.

For large parts there was very little to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a threat going forward, with ex- Premier League attacker creating issues for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta upped the intensity and rightfully levelled when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta scored the winner in the closing stages when the Blues defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a powerful shot.

Chelsea tried to salvage a draw in stoppage time but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The result means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage games remaining.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, climb up to third, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Persists

This was a hugely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to secure the top-eight finish they require to avoid the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta seized the moment.

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

But the broader context is that this continues Chelsea's worrying run of results in all tournaments.

Since beating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the close of November they are now winless in their last four outings.

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be 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 lineup.

The rotations here came after he made the identical amount for the loss to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

The coach will view rotation as vital as he attempts to handle players' fitness and compete both at home and abroad, but he maintained the core group of players remains the unchanged for key games.

"I think tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, Barcelona, and the Gunners," he said.

"If you see the five changes that we did compared to the previous game it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The ones who took to the field this evening are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."

What Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.