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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's chances of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were suffered a setback as Atalanta fought back to claim victory in their home stadium.

Each club went into this match with the same points tallies in the league phase of this season's competition, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to sit on ten points.

For extended periods there was very little to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro converted Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta remained a danger going on the attack, with former Charlton and Everton attacker creating issues for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta increased the intensity and deservedly drew level when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but they scored the winner in the closing stages when the Blues defence retreated from the midfielder, who made no mistake with a low shot.

Chelsea tried to salvage a point late on but a brilliant save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The result means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the positions that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two group stage games left to play.

Atalanta, in contrast, climb up to third, three points clear of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Form Continues

This was a extremely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top eight position they require to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.

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

The Italian side are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be departing with no points after taking the early advantage.

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

Since beating Barcelona 3-0 at the end of November they are now without a win in their last four matches.

Excessive Changes Proving Costly?

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

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

Maresca will see squad rotation as essential as he tries to handle players' minutes and compete both at domestically and abroad, but he stated the central contingent of players stays the same for important fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we made relative to Bournemouth it is different but it is the same eight or nine players playing in that match.

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

Up Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next Champions League game sees them host Pafos on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.