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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives 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 hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents came from behind to claim victory in Bergamo.

Both sides went into this fixture with the same records in the initial stage of this season's competition, having won, drawn, and lost to have accrued ten points.

For large parts there was not much to distinguish them in this encounter too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when Joao Pedro finished Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta remained a threat going on the attack, with ex- Premier League attacker causing problems for the defence.

James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta increased the intensity and rightfully drew level when former West Ham United striker nodded home a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but they secured the winning goal in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a driven strike.

The visitors tried to salvage a point late on but a brilliant stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the spots that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase fixtures left to play.

Atalanta, meanwhile, leap up to third, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Continues

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

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta took full advantage.

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 annoyed to be departing with nothing after taking the lead.

But the wider issue is that this perpetuates Chelsea's troubling streak of results in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Changes Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this match as he continued his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

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

The coach will view rotation as essential as he tries to handle players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he insisted the core group of players stays the same for crucial games.

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

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

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

What Next for These Teams?

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

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