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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the interval and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker nets a late winner for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's chances of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to claim victory in Bergamo.

Both sides entered this fixture with the same records in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to sit on 10 points.

For large parts there was little to choose between them in this encounter too, although Chelsea went ahead in the first half when Joao Pedro turned in Reece James' delivery.

But Atalanta always looked a danger going on the attack, with ex- Premier League attacker creating problems for the backline.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but the home team upped the intensity and deservedly levelled when ex-West Ham striker headed in a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but they got the winning goal in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a low finish.

Chelsea attempted to rescue a draw late on but a brilliant stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

The result means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures left to play.

Atalanta, meanwhile, jump up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Persists

This was a extremely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top eight finish they require to avoid the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italians are in rich vein of form 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 securing the lead.

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

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

Too Many Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca enacted five rotations for this game as he continued his run of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

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

Maresca will view squad rotation as essential as he tries to manage players' fitness and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he maintained the core group of players remains the same for crucial games.

"I think tonight [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, and the Gunners," he said.

"If you see the five changes that we did relative to the previous game it may be different but it is the same eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The ones who played tonight are the individuals playing almost all the matches."

What Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next European fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, host Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.