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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker scores a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's chances of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta came from behind to claim victory in Bergamo.

The two teams entered this fixture with matching records in the league phase of this season's tournament, having won, drawn, and lost to be on 10 points.

For extended periods there was not much to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when Joao Pedro converted Reece James' delivery.

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

James fired wide in the after the break but the home team increased the pressure and rightfully drew level when former West Ham United striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but they secured the winning goal late on when the Chelsea defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a driven shot.

The visitors tried to rescue a draw late on but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

The result means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase fixtures remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Persists

This was a deeply frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to achieve the top eight position they require to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

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

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be departing with nothing after securing the lead.

But the bigger picture is that this perpetuates Chelsea's troubling 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 games.

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this match as he continued his strategy of rotating players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here followed after he implemented the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will see rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' minutes and compete both at home and abroad, but he maintained the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

"I believe tonight [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, Barcelona, and Arsenal," he commented.

"If you see the five changes that we did compared to the previous game it may be different but it involves the eight or nine players who played in that match.

"The players who took to the field this evening are the ones playing almost all the games."

Up Next for These Clubs?

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

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.