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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• 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 Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's hopes of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta fought back to claim victory in their home stadium.

Each club went into this game with identical records in the league phase of this year's competition, having won, drawn, and lost to be on ten points.

For large parts there was not much to distinguish them in this encounter too, although Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian converted the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side always looked a danger going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the backline.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but the home team increased the pressure and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a driven strike.

The visitors attempted to rescue a point late on but a brilliant save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The result means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures left to play.

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Form Continues

This was a deeply disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to achieve the top eight finish they require to bypass the uncertainty 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 capitalised completely.

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

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

Since beating Barcelona 3-0 at the end of November they are now without a win in their last four games.

Too Many Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five rotations for this game as he persisted with his run of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here came after he implemented the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

The coach will view rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' minutes and compete both at home and in Europe, but he maintained the central contingent of players stays the unchanged for important fixtures.

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

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

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

What Next for These Sides?

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

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.