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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a late decisive goal for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to claim victory in Bergamo.

Each club went into this fixture with matching records in the league phase of this year's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to sit on 10 points.

For large parts there was not much to choose between them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro finished Reece James' cross.

But The Serie A side always looked a threat going on the attack, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta raised the intensity and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but they got the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a driven strike.

The visitors attempted to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage matches left to play.

Atalanta, in contrast, jump up to third place, three points ahead of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Sequence Continues

This was a hugely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to achieve the top-eight finish they require to avoid the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents seized the moment.

The Italian side are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be departing with nothing after securing the early advantage.

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

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

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five alterations for this game as he persisted with his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

The changes here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

Maresca will view rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' workloads and compete both at domestically and abroad, but he stated the central contingent of players stays the unchanged for important games.

"I believe tonight [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, and the Gunners," he said.

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

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

What's Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next European game sees them host Pafos on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.