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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late decisive goal 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 knockout phase.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta came from behind to claim victory in their home stadium.

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

For much of the game there was little to distinguish them in this encounter too, although Chelsea went ahead in the first half when the Brazilian finished the captain's delivery.

But The Serie A side always looked a danger going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker causing problems for the backline.

Reece James fired wide in the second half but the home team increased the pressure and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta scored the decisive strike late on when the Blues defence retreated from the midfielder, who took full advantage with a powerful strike.

The visitors attempted to salvage a point in stoppage time but a superb stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage matches remaining.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Run Persists

This was a deeply disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them well placed to secure the top eight position they require to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and their opponents seized the moment.

The Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be departing with no points after securing the lead.

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

Since beating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the close of November they are now winless in their last four games.

Too Many Rotations Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five changes for this match as he persisted with his policy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The rotations here came 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.

Maresca will view rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' minutes and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he insisted the core group of players remains the unchanged for crucial games.

"I believe 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 changes that we made relative to Bournemouth it is a change but it involves the same eight or nine players who played in that match.

"The ones who took to the field tonight are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."

Up Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them host Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, host Athletic Club at the same time.