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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents fought back to claim victory in their home stadium.

Both sides entered this game with the same records in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to sit on ten points.

For large parts there was very little to separate them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when Joao Pedro converted the captain's delivery.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a threat going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker creating problems for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but Atalanta upped the intensity and justly levelled when former West Ham United striker nodded home a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta scored the winner in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a powerful finish.

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

The outcome means Chelsea drop 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, in contrast, jump up to third, three points clear of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Persists

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

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta seized the moment.

The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be departing with no points after taking the lead.

But the wider issue is that this perpetuates Chelsea's worrying 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 outings.

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five changes for this game as he persisted with his run of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

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

Maresca will see squad rotation as vital as he attempts to handle players' minutes and compete both at domestically and abroad, but he insisted the central contingent of players remains the same for important games.

"I believe in this match [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, and the Gunners," he said.

"If you look at the five changes that we made relative to the previous game it is a change but it involves the same eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The players who took to the field tonight are the individuals playing almost all the matches."

What Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next Champions League game sees them host Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

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