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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a last-gasp decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta fought back to claim victory in their home stadium.

The two teams went into this match with the same records in the initial stage of this year's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to be on ten points.

For much of the game 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' delivery.

But Atalanta consistently appeared a danger going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the defence.

James shot wide in the second half but the home team upped the pressure and deservedly equalised when former West Ham United striker nodded home a centering pass.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but they secured the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a low finish.

The visitors tried to rescue a draw late on but a brilliant stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage matches remaining.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, climb up to third place, three points clear of the Blues.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Continues

This was a deeply disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to secure the top-eight position they need to bypass the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

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

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

But the broader context is that this extends Chelsea's concerning streak of form in all tournaments.

Since defeating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the end of November they are now winless in their last four outings.

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five changes for this game as he continued his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here came after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

The coach will view rotation as necessary as he attempts to manage players' workloads and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he stated the central contingent of players stays the same for key games.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we made relative to the previous game it is a change but it involves the same eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The ones who took to the field tonight are the ones playing almost all the games."

What's Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.