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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's chances of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were hit hard as their Italian opponents fought back to triumph in their home stadium.

Both sides went into this game with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having won, drawn, and lost to be on ten points.

For extended periods there was very little to choose between them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro turned in Reece James' cross.

But The Serie A side remained a threat going on the attack, with ex- Premier League attacker causing problems for the backline.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but the home team raised the pressure and deservedly equalised when former West Ham United striker headed in a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta scored the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a low strike.

Chelsea attempted to salvage a point late on but a brilliant save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The result means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures remaining.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, climb up to third, three points clear of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Form Continues

This was a hugely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them well placed to secure the top eight position they need to avoid the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with nothing after securing the lead.

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

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

Excessive Rotations Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here followed after he made the same number for the defeat to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will see squad rotation as vital as he attempts to handle players' fitness and compete both at domestically and abroad, but he maintained the key nucleus of players stays the unchanged for important games.

"I believe 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 changes that we did relative to the previous game it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players who played in that match.

"The ones who played this evening are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Clubs?

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

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.