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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's chances of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta came from behind to claim victory in their home stadium.

Both sides entered this match with the same points tallies in the league phase of this year's competition, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued ten points.

For large parts there was not much to choose between them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in Reece James' cross.

But The Serie A side remained a threat going on the attack, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but the home team upped the intensity and deservedly equalised when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta secured the decisive strike late on when the Blues defence backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a powerful finish.

Chelsea attempted to salvage a point in stoppage time but a brilliant stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase fixtures remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Continues

This was a hugely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to secure the top-eight finish they need to avoid the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lacked concentration 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 difficult test for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with no points after taking the lead.

But the bigger picture is that this extends Chelsea's worrying 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 games.

Excessive Changes Proving Expensive?

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

The rotations here came after he implemented the same number for the defeat to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will view rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' minutes and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the central contingent of players remains the unchanged for important fixtures.

"I think tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham Hotspur, FC Barcelona, and the Gunners," he stated.

"If you see the five alterations that we did relative to the previous game it may be different but it is the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The players who played this evening are the ones who feature in almost all the games."

Up Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.