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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents came from behind to win in Bergamo.

The two teams went into this fixture with matching records in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For large parts there was little to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian converted the captain's delivery.

But Atalanta remained a threat going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the backline.

Reece James fired wide in the second half but the home team upped the pressure and justly equalised when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta scored the winner in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a driven strike.

The visitors tried to rescue a point late on but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

The result means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase fixtures remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Continues

This was a deeply frustrating result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to secure the top eight position they need to bypass the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents seized the moment.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be departing with nothing after securing the early advantage.

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

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

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five alterations for this game as he persisted with his policy of moving players in and out of the first team.

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

The coach will view squad rotation as necessary as he attempts to handle players' fitness and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the central contingent of players stays the same for crucial games.

"I believe tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham, FC Barcelona, and Arsenal," he stated.

"If you look at the five alterations that we made relative to the previous game it is different but it is the same eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

Up Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next Champions League game sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, host Athletic Club at the same time.