🔗 Share this article

At a Glance

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a last-gasp decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's chances of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents came from behind to triumph in Bergamo.

Each club entered this fixture with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this season's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to be on ten points.

For extended periods there was not much to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro converted Reece James' cross.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a danger going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker causing issues for the backline.

James fired wide in the after the break but the home team upped the intensity and justly drew level when ex-West Ham striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but they scored the decisive strike late on when the Chelsea defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a driven shot.

Chelsea tried to rescue a point in stoppage time but a excellent stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

The result means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two group stage games left to play.

Atalanta, meanwhile, jump up to third place, three points clear of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Sequence Persists

This was a hugely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them well placed to achieve the top eight finish they require to avoid the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties 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 challenging examination for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be departing with no points after taking the lead.

But the wider issue is that this continues Chelsea's troubling sequence of results in all competitions.

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

Too Many Rotations Proving Expensive?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this game as he continued his policy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The rotations here came after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

The coach will see squad rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' workloads and compete both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the core group of players stays the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

"I think tonight [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham Hotspur, FC Barcelona, and Arsenal," he said.

"If you look at the five alterations that we did compared to Bournemouth it is a change but it is the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The players who played this evening are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next Champions League game sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

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