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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late winner for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's chances of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were hit hard as their Italian opponents fought back to claim victory in Bergamo.

The two teams entered this game with the same records in the league phase of this season's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to be on ten points.

For large parts there was very little to separate them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian converted the captain's delivery.

But Atalanta remained a danger going on the attack, with former Charlton and Everton attacker causing problems for the defence.

James fired wide in the after the break but the home team upped the intensity and deservedly drew level when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but they scored the winning goal late on when the Blues defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a powerful shot.

The visitors attempted to rescue a point late on but a brilliant stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase matches remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Persists

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

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with nothing after taking the lead.

But the wider issue is that this perpetuates Chelsea's worrying sequence of form in all tournaments.

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

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here followed after he made the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will see rotation as essential as he tries to manage players' fitness and challenge both at home and abroad, but he stated the core group of players stays the same for crucial games.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we made relative to Bournemouth it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The players who played this evening are the ones playing almost all the games."

What Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next European fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

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