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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a last-gasp decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the league phase of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the last 16.

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

Both sides went into this fixture with identical points tallies in the league phase of this year's tournament, having won, tied one, and lost to have accrued 10 points.

For extended periods there was little to choose between them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian converted Reece James' delivery.

But Atalanta always looked a danger going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker creating problems for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta increased the intensity and rightfully levelled when ex-West Ham striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the winning goal late on when the Blues defence retreated from the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a low finish.

The visitors tried to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a brilliant save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Sequence Persists

This was a hugely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them well placed to secure the top eight position they require to bypass the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lacked concentration in defence 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 difficult test for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with no points after securing the lead.

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

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

Too Many Changes Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this match as he persisted with his run of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

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

Maresca will see rotation as essential as he tries to manage players' workloads and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the central contingent of players remains the unchanged for important games.

"I believe in this match [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, FC Barcelona, and Arsenal," he said.

"If you look at the five changes that we made compared to the previous game it may be different but it involves the same eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The players who took to the field this evening are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Clubs?

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

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