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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval 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 top eight progress automatically for the last 16.

The London club's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents came from behind to claim victory in Bergamo.

Each club entered this game with matching points tallies in the initial stage of this year's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to have accrued 10 points.

For much of the game there was little to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro finished Reece James' cross.

But The Serie A side remained a threat going forward, with former Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the backline.

James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta raised the intensity and rightfully levelled when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but they secured the winner in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders retreated from the midfielder, who made no mistake with a driven shot.

Chelsea tried to salvage a point late on but a excellent stop by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase matches remaining.

Atalanta, in contrast, climb up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Sequence Continues

This was a deeply disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to secure 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 Atalanta seized the moment.

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

But the bigger picture is that this perpetuates Chelsea's troubling sequence 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 matches.

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca enacted five rotations for this match as he persisted with his run of rotating players in and out of the first team.

The changes here followed after he made the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

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

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

"If you see the five changes that we did compared to the previous game it may be a change but it is the same eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

Up Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next European game sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, host Athletic Bilbao at the same time.