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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp decisive goal for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's chances of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were hit hard as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to win in their home stadium.

Both sides went into this game with the same records in the league phase of this season's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For much of the game there was not much to separate them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished Reece James' cross.

But The Serie A side remained a threat going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the backline.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta upped the intensity and justly levelled when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the winner late on when the Chelsea defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a low finish.

The visitors attempted to rescue a point in stoppage time but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The result means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures left to play.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Run Continues

This was a extremely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to secure the top-eight finish they require to avoid the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

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

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be departing with nothing after taking the lead.

But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's concerning run of form in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five changes for this match as he persisted with his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

The rotations here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

The coach will view rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' minutes and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the core group of players stays the unchanged for crucial games.

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

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

"The players who took to the field this evening are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."

What Next for These Clubs?

The Blues' next Champions League game sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.