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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a late decisive goal for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's chances of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta overturned a deficit to claim victory in Bergamo.

Each club entered this game with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to have accrued ten points.

For much of the game there was not much to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro converted the captain's cross.

But Atalanta always looked a danger going forwards, with ex- Premier League attacker creating issues for the defence.

James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta raised the pressure and justly levelled when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta scored the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a powerful finish.

The visitors attempted to salvage a draw late on but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase games left to play.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Sequence Continues

This was a deeply disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to achieve the top-eight finish they require to avoid the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents seized the moment.

The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with no points after taking the lead.

But the wider issue is that this extends Chelsea's concerning streak of form in all tournaments.

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

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five changes for this match as he continued his policy of rotating players in and out of the first team.

The changes here came after he implemented the same number for the loss to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

The coach will see squad rotation as vital as he attempts to handle players' workloads and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he insisted the key nucleus of players stays the same for crucial fixtures.

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

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

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

Up Next for These Clubs?

The Blues' next Champions League game sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

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