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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were hit hard as their Italian opponents came from behind to claim victory in Bergamo.

The two teams entered this game with matching points tallies in the league phase of this year's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to be on 10 points.

For large parts there was very little to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro converted the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a danger going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta raised the intensity and rightfully equalised when former West Ham United striker nodded home a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they got the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Blues defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a driven strike.

The visitors attempted to salvage a draw in stoppage time but a superb stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two group stage games left to play.

Atalanta, in contrast, climb up to third, three points clear of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Continues

This was a deeply frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top-eight finish they need to bypass the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents took full advantage.

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with no points after taking the early advantage.

But the wider issue is that this perpetuates Chelsea's worrying sequence of form in all competitions.

Since beating 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 made five alterations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

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

The coach will view squad rotation as essential as he tries to handle players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the core group of players remains the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we made compared to Bournemouth it is a change but it is the eight or nine players playing in that match.

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

Up Next for These Sides?

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

Atalanta, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.