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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a late decisive goal for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were hit hard as their Italian opponents came from behind to triumph in Bergamo.

Each club went into this fixture with identical points tallies in the initial stage of this year's competition, having won, drawn, and lost to have accrued 10 points.

For large parts there was little to distinguish them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro converted Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a danger going forward, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker creating problems for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but the home team upped the intensity and deservedly drew level when former West Ham United striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta secured the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a powerful finish.

The visitors attempted to salvage a point late on but a excellent stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two group stage fixtures remaining.

Atalanta, meanwhile, leap up to third, three points clear of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Sequence Persists

This was a deeply frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them well placed to achieve the top-eight position they require to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

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

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 disappointed to be departing with nothing after securing the lead.

But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's worrying streak of results in all competitions.

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

Too Many Rotations Proving Expensive?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this game as he persisted with his run of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here came after he implemented the same number for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

Maresca will see rotation as necessary as he attempts to handle players' minutes and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for important fixtures.

"I think in this match [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham Hotspur, FC Barcelona, and the Gunners," he commented.

"If you see the five alterations that we did relative to the previous game it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The ones who played tonight are the individuals playing almost all the games."

What Next for These Sides?

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

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