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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to win in their home stadium.

Each club entered this fixture with matching points tallies in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having won, drawn, and lost to be on 10 points.

For extended periods there was not much to separate them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the first half when the Brazilian finished the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a danger going on the attack, with ex- Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but the home team raised the intensity and justly levelled when former West Ham United striker headed in a cross.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta scored the winning goal late on when the Blues defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a powerful finish.

Chelsea tried to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two group stage matches left to play.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Continues

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

But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be departing with no points after securing the lead.

But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's concerning streak of form in all competitions.

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

Excessive Changes Proving Costly?

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

The changes here came after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will see squad rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' workloads and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the central contingent of players stays the unchanged for important fixtures.

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

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

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

Up Next for These Clubs?

The Blues' next Champions League fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

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