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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents came from behind to triumph in their home stadium.

The two teams entered this match with matching points tallies in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to have accrued 10 points.

For extended periods there was very little to choose between them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta remained a threat going forwards, with former Premier League attacker causing problems for the backline.

James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta upped the intensity and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they scored the winning goal late on when the Blues defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a powerful strike.

Chelsea tried to rescue a point late on but a brilliant save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The result means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase matches remaining.

The Bergamo club, 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 point was keeping them well placed to secure the top-eight finish they require to avoid the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes remaining and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italians 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 no points after securing the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this continues Chelsea's concerning sequence of results in all competitions.

Since defeating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the end of November they are now winless in their last four outings.

Excessive Changes Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this match as he persisted with his run of rotating players in and out of the first team.

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

The coach will see rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' workloads and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the core group of players remains the same for key fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we made compared to Bournemouth it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players playing in that match.

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

What Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next European game sees them welcome Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

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