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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta fought back to win in their home stadium.

Both sides entered this match with identical points tallies in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to be on 10 points.

For much of the game there was little to distinguish them in this contest too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro finished Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side remained a threat going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but Atalanta increased the intensity and deservedly equalised when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but they got the winner in the closing stages when the Blues defence retreated from the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a powerful finish.

Chelsea tried to salvage a draw late on but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out 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 matches remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Persists

This was a extremely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to secure the top eight finish they require to bypass the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

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

The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with no points after taking the early advantage.

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

Since beating Barcelona 3-0 at the end of November they are now winless in their last four outings.

Excessive Changes Proving Costly?

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

The changes here came after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

The coach will see squad rotation as necessary as he tries to manage players' workloads and challenge both at home and abroad, but he insisted the core group of players stays the same for key fixtures.

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

"If you see the five changes that we made relative to the previous game it may be different but it is the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

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

What Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next Champions League game sees them host Pafos on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

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