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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late decisive goal for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the league phase of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta fought back to win in their home stadium.

The two teams went into this game with identical points tallies in the league phase of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For large parts there was very little to distinguish them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian turned in the captain's cross.

But Atalanta always looked a danger going forward, with ex- Premier League attacker causing issues for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta increased the intensity and justly drew level when ex-West Ham striker headed in a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they got the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who made no mistake with a driven finish.

The visitors tried to salvage a point in stoppage time but a excellent stop by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the spots that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two group stage fixtures remaining.

Atalanta, meanwhile, climb up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Persists

This was a extremely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them well placed to secure the top eight position they require to avoid the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta capitalised completely.

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

But the wider issue is that this continues Chelsea's concerning run of form in all competitions.

Since beating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the close of November they are now without a win in their last four matches.

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this game as he persisted with his run of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

The rotations here followed after he made the identical amount for the loss to Leeds United and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

The coach will view squad rotation as essential as he tries to manage players' minutes and compete both at home and abroad, but he maintained the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for crucial games.

"I think in this match [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, FC Barcelona, and Arsenal," he said.

"If you look at the five alterations that we made relative to the previous game it may be different but it is the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

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

What's Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next Champions League game sees them welcome Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.