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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late decisive goal for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's chances of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were hit hard as Atalanta fought back to triumph in their home stadium.

Both sides entered this match with matching records in the league phase of this season's tournament, having won, tied one, and lost to be on 10 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 turned in Reece James' delivery.

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

Reece James fired wide in the second half but Atalanta increased the intensity and justly equalised when former West Ham United striker nodded home a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta got the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defenders retreated from the midfielder, who made no mistake with a low strike.

Chelsea tried to salvage a draw late on but a brilliant save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The result means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage matches left to play.

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Continues

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

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents took full advantage.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with no points after securing the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's worrying sequence of results in all competitions.

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

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

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

The rotations here came after he made the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will see rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he insisted the key nucleus of players remains the same for crucial games.

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

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

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

What's Next for These Sides?

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

Atalanta, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.