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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker scores a last-gasp decisive goal for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents fought back to triumph in Bergamo.

Both sides went into this fixture with matching points tallies in the league phase of this season's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to sit on 10 points.

For large parts there was little to separate them in this encounter too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side always looked a threat going on the attack, with former Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the defence.

James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta raised the pressure and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the winning goal in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a low shot.

The visitors attempted to rescue a draw late on but a brilliant stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage matches remaining.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, climb up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Form Continues

This was a extremely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top-eight position they require to bypass the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents seized the moment.

The Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be departing with no points after taking the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this extends Chelsea's worrying run of form in all competitions.

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

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five changes for this game as he continued his policy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The rotations here came after he made the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

The coach will view rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' fitness and compete both at home and abroad, but he maintained the core group of players remains the same for important games.

"I believe tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham Hotspur, FC Barcelona, and the Gunners," he stated.

"If you look at the five alterations that we made relative to the previous game it is different but it involves the eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

What's Next for These Sides?

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

Atalanta, on the other hand, host Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.