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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a last-gasp decisive goal for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's hopes of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta came from behind to claim victory in their home stadium.

The two teams went into this match with matching points tallies in the league phase of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to have accrued ten points.

For much of the game there was little to separate them in this contest too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian turned in Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta remained a danger going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the backline.

James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta raised the pressure and justly levelled when ex-West Ham striker headed in a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the winner late on when the Chelsea defence backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a powerful strike.

The visitors attempted to salvage a draw in stoppage time but a superb stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage games left to play.

Atalanta, in contrast, leap up to third, three points ahead of the Blues.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Form Continues

This was a deeply frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to achieve the top eight finish they require to bypass the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be departing with no points after securing the lead.

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

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 Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

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

Maresca will see squad rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' minutes and compete both at home and in Europe, but he stated the core group of players remains the unchanged for crucial games.

"I believe in this match [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, and the Gunners," he said.

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

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

What's Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next European fixture sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

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