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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to win in Bergamo.

The two teams entered this game with identical records in the league phase of this season's competition, having won, tied one, and lost to have accrued 10 points.

For large parts there was little to distinguish them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian converted the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side remained a threat going forward, with former Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the defence.

James fired wide in the second half but Atalanta raised the pressure and justly drew level when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a centering pass.

The winger drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they secured the winner in the closing stages when the Blues defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a low finish.

Chelsea tried to salvage a draw in stoppage time but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage matches remaining.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, leap up to third, three points ahead of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Persists

This was a deeply frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to achieve the top-eight finish they need to bypass the lottery 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 good form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be departing with no points after securing the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this extends Chelsea's concerning streak of results in all tournaments.

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

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this game as he continued his policy of moving players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here came after he made the same number for the loss to Leeds United and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will see rotation as essential as he tries to manage players' minutes and compete both at home and abroad, but he maintained the key nucleus of players remains the same for key fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we did compared to Bournemouth it may be different but it is the same eight or nine players who played in that match.

"The players who played tonight are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."

What Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next European fixture sees them host Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

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