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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were hit hard as Atalanta overturned a deficit to triumph in their home stadium.

The two teams entered this fixture with the same points tallies in the league phase of this year's competition, having won, drawn, and lost to sit on ten points.

For extended periods there was little to choose between them in this encounter too, although Chelsea went ahead in the first half when the Brazilian turned in Reece James' delivery.

But Atalanta always looked a danger going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the backline.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team upped the intensity and deservedly levelled when former West Ham United striker nodded home a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they got the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a powerful shot.

Chelsea tried to rescue a draw late on but a brilliant save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Continues

This was a deeply disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them well placed to achieve the top-eight finish they require to avoid the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with no points after taking the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this perpetuates Chelsea's concerning run of form in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this game as he continued his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

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

Maresca will view squad rotation as necessary as he attempts to handle players' workloads and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he insisted the core group of players remains the unchanged for important games.

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

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

"The players who took to the field this evening are the individuals playing almost all the games."

What Next for These Sides?

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

The Italian team, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.