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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's chances of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were hit hard as their Italian opponents fought back to win in Bergamo.

Each club entered this match with the same points tallies in the league phase of this year's tournament, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to sit on ten points.

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

But Atalanta always looked a threat going on the attack, with former Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta raised the pressure and rightfully levelled when ex-West Ham striker headed in a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the winner 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 rescue a point late on but a brilliant stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase fixtures remaining.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, leap up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Run Persists

This was a deeply frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to achieve the top eight position they require to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

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

The Italians are in good form 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 nothing after taking the lead.

But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's worrying run of results in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five changes for this match as he continued his policy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

The coach will view squad rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' workloads and compete both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the core group of players stays the same for important games.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we made relative to the previous game it may be 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."

What Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them host Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, host Athletic Bilbao at the same time.