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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents fought back to claim victory in their home stadium.

Both sides entered this game with matching points tallies in the initial stage of this year's competition, having won, tied one, and lost to have accrued 10 points.

For extended periods there was little to separate them in this encounter too, although Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro converted Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side remained a danger going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker creating problems for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta increased the pressure and justly drew level when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta scored the decisive strike late on when the Blues defence backed off the midfielder, who took full advantage with a driven shot.

The visitors attempted to rescue a point in stoppage time but a superb save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage games remaining.

Atalanta, in contrast, leap up to third, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Run Persists

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

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta took full advantage.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with no points after securing the early advantage.

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

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

Too Many Rotations Proving Expensive?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca enacted five alterations for this game as he continued his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

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

The coach will view squad rotation as essential as he tries to handle players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he maintained the core group of players remains the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

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

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

"The ones who played this evening are the ones who feature in almost all the games."

What Next for These Teams?

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

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