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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents fought back to claim victory in Bergamo.

Both sides went into this game with matching records in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For large parts there was little to separate them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro finished the captain's delivery.

But Atalanta always looked a threat going on the attack, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker creating problems for the backline.

Reece James fired wide in the second half but Atalanta increased the pressure and deservedly drew level when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they secured the winning goal in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a low strike.

The visitors attempted to salvage a draw in stoppage time but a superb stop by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two group stage games left to play.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Form Continues

This was a deeply frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them well placed to secure the top eight position they require to avoid the uncertainty of the play-offs.

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

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be departing with nothing after taking the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this continues Chelsea's concerning run of results in all tournaments.

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 Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five changes for this match as he persisted with his run of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

The rotations here came after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will view squad rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' workloads and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he insisted the central contingent of players stays the unchanged for key games.

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

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

"The players who played this evening are the individuals playing almost all the games."

Up Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next European fixture sees them welcome Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.