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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams progress 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 overturned a deficit to win in their home stadium.

Each club went into this fixture with matching records in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For extended periods there was not much to separate them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta consistently appeared a danger going on the attack, with ex- Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but Atalanta raised the pressure and justly levelled when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they secured the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence backed off the midfielder, who made no mistake with a driven shot.

Chelsea tried to rescue a point in stoppage time but a excellent stop by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase fixtures remaining.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, leap up to third place, three points clear of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Form Persists

This was a hugely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to secure the top eight finish they require to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.

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

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be departing with nothing after taking the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's troubling streak of form in all competitions.

Since defeating 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 Costly?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca enacted five alterations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the first team.

The changes here came after he made the same number for the defeat to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will see rotation as necessary as he attempts to manage players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the key nucleus of players stays the same for important games.

"I think tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham, Barcelona, and Arsenal," he commented.

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

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

What's Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next European game sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

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