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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents came from behind to triumph in Bergamo.

Both sides went into this fixture with matching points tallies in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to be on 10 points.

For large parts there was very little to distinguish them in this encounter too, although Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in the captain's cross.

But Atalanta consistently appeared a threat going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the backline.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team upped the pressure and deservedly levelled when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta got the decisive strike late on when the Blues defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a powerful shot.

Chelsea attempted to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a superb save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage matches left to play.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, climb up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Persists

This was a extremely disappointing result 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 lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta capitalised completely.

The Italians 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 annoyed to be leaving with no points after taking the lead.

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

Since defeating Barcelona 3-0 at the close of November they are now winless in their last four matches.

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this game 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 United and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will view rotation as necessary as he attempts to handle players' workloads and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the key nucleus of players stays the same for crucial fixtures.

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

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

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

Up Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next European game sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, host Athletic Club at the same time.