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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's chances of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to claim victory in their home stadium.

The two teams entered this fixture with matching points tallies in the league phase of this season's competition, having won, drawn, and lost to sit on ten points.

For extended periods there was not much to choose between them in this contest too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro finished Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side remained a danger going on the attack, with ex- Premier League attacker causing problems for the backline.

Reece James fired wide in the second half but Atalanta raised the intensity and rightfully levelled when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta scored the winner in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a powerful strike.

The visitors attempted to salvage a draw late on but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two league phase matches remaining.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, climb up to third place, three points clear of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Form Continues

This was a deeply frustrating result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to achieve the top-eight finish they need to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta capitalised completely.

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be departing with no points after securing the lead.

But the broader context is that this perpetuates Chelsea's concerning streak of form in all tournaments.

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

Excessive Rotations Proving Expensive?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five changes for this game as he persisted with his strategy of rotating players in and out of the first team.

The changes here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

Maresca will view squad rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he maintained the core group of players stays the unchanged for crucial games.

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

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

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

What Next for These Clubs?

The Blues' next Champions League game sees them host Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

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