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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late decisive goal for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were suffered a setback as Atalanta fought back to triumph in Bergamo.

Each club went into this match with identical records in the league phase of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to have accrued 10 points.

For extended periods there was little to choose between them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the first half when the Brazilian finished Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta always looked a danger going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the backline.

James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta increased the pressure and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta scored the winner late on when the Chelsea defenders backed off the midfielder, who made no mistake with a driven shot.

The visitors attempted to rescue a draw late on but a superb stop by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Pedro.

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

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Run Continues

This was a extremely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them in a strong position to achieve the top-eight position they need to avoid the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

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

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

But the broader context is that this perpetuates Chelsea's troubling streak of results in all competitions.

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

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this game as he persisted with his policy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

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

Maresca will see rotation as vital as he attempts to handle players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he insisted the core group of players remains the same for key fixtures.

"I believe in this match [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, and Arsenal," he stated.

"If you look at the five alterations that we made compared to the previous game it may be different but it involves the same eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The players who took to the field tonight are the individuals who feature in almost all the games."

What Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next European game sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.