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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late decisive goal for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents came from behind to claim victory in Bergamo.

Each club went into this fixture with matching records in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For extended periods there was not much to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the first half when Joao Pedro converted Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta consistently appeared a danger going forward, with former Charlton and Everton attacker creating issues for the backline.

James fired wide in the after the break but the home team upped the pressure and deservedly equalised when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they scored the winner in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a driven strike.

The visitors tried to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a brilliant save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two league phase games remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Run Persists

This was a extremely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them in a strong position to achieve the top eight position they need to avoid the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes remaining and their opponents took full advantage.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the visitors, 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 troubling streak of form in all competitions.

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

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five alterations for this game as he persisted with his strategy of rotating players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here followed after he made the same number for the defeat to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

Maresca will view squad rotation as necessary as he attempts to manage players' minutes and compete both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the central contingent of players stays the same for key games.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we did relative to the previous game it is different but it involves the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The players who took to the field this evening are the individuals playing almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, host Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.