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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a last-gasp decisive goal for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents came from behind to triumph in their home stadium.

The two teams went into this fixture with identical points tallies in the league phase of this year's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to have accrued 10 points.

For large parts there was little to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when the Brazilian finished Reece James' cross.

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

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but the home team raised the intensity and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta scored the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a powerful finish.

Chelsea tried to salvage a draw late on but a superb stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage games remaining.

Atalanta, in contrast, jump up to third place, three points clear of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Run Persists

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

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

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with no points after taking the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's concerning streak of results in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five rotations for this match as he continued his strategy of rotating players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here followed after he made 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 see squad rotation as vital as he tries to manage players' workloads and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the core group of players remains the same for important games.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we did compared to Bournemouth it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The players who took to the field tonight are the individuals who feature in almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Sides?

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

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.