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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to triumph in their home stadium.

The two teams entered this game with identical records in the league phase of this year's competition, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued ten points.

For extended periods there was not much to choose between them in this encounter too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro converted Reece James' cross.

But The Serie A side always looked a threat going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta upped the intensity and justly levelled when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they secured the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defence backed off the midfielder, who took full advantage with a low finish.

The visitors attempted to salvage a point in stoppage time but a brilliant save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the positions that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two league phase games left to play.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Persists

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

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta seized the moment.

The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with no points after securing the lead.

But the wider issue is that this perpetuates Chelsea's concerning sequence of results in all competitions.

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

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five alterations for this game as he persisted with his run of moving players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here followed after he implemented the same number for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

The coach will see rotation as essential as he tries to handle players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he maintained the core group of players stays the same for important games.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we did compared to the previous game it is different but it is the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The ones who played this evening are the ones playing almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Clubs?

The Blues' next Champions League fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, host Athletic Bilbao at the same time.