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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th 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 European Cup knockouts were hit hard as Atalanta came from behind to claim victory in their home stadium.

Both sides entered this match with matching records in the league phase of this season's competition, having won, tied one, and lost to have accrued ten points.

For much of the game there was very little to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the first half when Joao Pedro turned in Reece James' delivery.

But Atalanta remained a danger going on the attack, with ex- Premier League attacker creating problems for the defence.

James shot wide in the second half but Atalanta increased the pressure and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta secured the winning goal late on when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who took full advantage with a low shot.

The visitors attempted to salvage a draw late on but a superb save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The result means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage matches left to play.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, jump up to third place, three points clear of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Sequence Continues

This was a extremely frustrating 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 qualifying play-off round.

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes remaining and their opponents seized the moment.

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

But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's worrying streak 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 Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five changes for this game as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

The changes here came after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds United and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

Maresca will view squad rotation as necessary as he tries to manage players' minutes and challenge both at home and abroad, but he maintained the core group of players stays the same for key fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we did relative to Bournemouth it is a change but it is the eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The ones who took to the field this evening are the individuals playing almost all the matches."

Up Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next Champions League fixture sees them host Pafos on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.