🔗 Share this article

At a Glance

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's chances of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta came from behind to claim victory in their home stadium.

Both sides went into this match with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this season's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to be on ten points.

For large parts there was very little to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta consistently appeared a danger going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing problems for the defence.

James shot wide in the after the break but the home team raised the intensity and deservedly drew level when former West Ham United striker nodded home a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta scored the winning goal late on when the Blues defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a powerful shot.

The visitors attempted to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a brilliant stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The result means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase games left to play.

Atalanta, meanwhile, leap up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Continues

This was a extremely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them well placed to achieve the top eight position they need to avoid the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and their opponents took full advantage.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be departing with nothing after securing the lead.

But the bigger picture is that this perpetuates Chelsea's concerning sequence of results in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Rotations Proving Costly?

Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five rotations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

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

Maresca will view squad rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' minutes and compete both at home and in Europe, but he stated the central contingent of players remains the unchanged for important games.

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

"If you see the five changes that we did compared to Bournemouth it may be a change but it involves the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

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

What Next for These Teams?

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

Atalanta, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.