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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's chances of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta overturned a deficit to triumph in their home stadium.

The two teams went into this game with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to sit on 10 points.

For large parts there was not much to distinguish them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the first half when Joao Pedro turned in the captain's delivery.

But Atalanta always looked a threat going forward, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker creating problems for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the second half but the home team increased the pressure and deservedly levelled when former West Ham United striker nodded home a cross.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they scored the winning goal in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence retreated from the midfielder, who took full advantage with a driven shot.

The visitors tried to salvage a point in stoppage time but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two league phase games left to play.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, leap up to third, three points clear of the Blues.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Form Continues

This was a extremely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to achieve the top-eight finish they require to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be departing with no points after taking the early advantage.

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

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

Excessive Rotations Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

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

The coach will view rotation as necessary as he tries to manage players' workloads and challenge both at home and abroad, but he stated the core group of players stays the unchanged for important fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we did compared to Bournemouth it is different but it is the eight or nine players playing in that match.

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

What's Next for These Clubs?

The Blues' next European game sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

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