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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were suffered a setback as Atalanta overturned a deficit to win in their home stadium.

Each club went into this fixture with identical records in the league phase of this year's competition, having won, drawn, and lost to sit on 10 points.

For much of the game there was not much to separate them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian turned in Reece James' cross.

But The Serie A side always looked a danger going forward, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but the home team increased the pressure and rightfully levelled when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they scored the winner late on when the Blues defenders retreated from the midfielder, who made no mistake with a low shot.

Chelsea attempted to salvage a draw in stoppage time but a superb save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

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

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

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Sequence Persists

This was a extremely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to secure the top eight finish they require to bypass the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta seized the moment.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with nothing after taking the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this perpetuates Chelsea's worrying run of form in all competitions.

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

Too Many Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this match as he continued his policy of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

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

Maresca will see squad rotation as essential as he tries to manage players' minutes and challenge both at home and abroad, but he insisted the core group of players remains the same for important games.

"I believe 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 made compared to the previous game it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The ones who took to the field tonight are the ones playing almost all the matches."

Up Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.