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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the league phase of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's hopes of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were suffered a setback as Atalanta overturned a deficit to win in their home stadium.

Both sides went into this fixture with identical points tallies in the initial stage of this season's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to be on ten points.

For large parts there was very little to distinguish them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro finished Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta remained a threat going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker creating problems for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but the home team raised the pressure and justly drew level when ex-West Ham striker headed in a cross.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta got the winner in the closing stages when the Blues defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a driven shot.

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

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

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

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Continues

This was a extremely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to achieve the top eight finish they need to bypass the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta seized the moment.

The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be departing with nothing after securing the lead.

But the wider issue is that this perpetuates Chelsea's troubling sequence of form in all competitions.

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

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five rotations for this game as he continued his strategy of rotating players in and out of the first team.

The rotations 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.

Maresca will see rotation as necessary as he tries to handle players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he stated the central contingent of players remains the same for important games.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we did compared to the previous game it is a change but it involves the eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The players who played tonight are the ones playing almost all the games."

What Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next European game sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, host Athletic Bilbao at the same time.