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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the last 16.

The London club's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were suffered a setback as Atalanta overturned a deficit to triumph in Bergamo.

Each club entered this fixture with identical records in the initial stage of this year's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For extended periods there was little to separate them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in the captain's cross.

But Atalanta remained a threat going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker creating problems for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the second half but Atalanta increased 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 they got the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a low finish.

The visitors attempted to rescue a point late on but a excellent stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

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

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Persists

This was a deeply frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to secure the top-eight finish they require to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta took full advantage.

The Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be departing with no points after securing the early advantage.

But the wider issue is that this extends Chelsea's concerning streak of results in all competitions.

Since defeating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the close of November they are now without a win in their last four matches.

Excessive Changes Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Maresca enacted five rotations for this match as he continued his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

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

The coach will view rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he stated the core group of players remains the unchanged for important fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we made compared to the previous game it may be different but it is the eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The ones who played tonight are the individuals who feature in almost all the games."

What's Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them welcome Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, host Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.