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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late winner for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's chances of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were suffered a setback as Atalanta fought back to win in Bergamo.

Both sides went into this fixture with matching points tallies in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having won, tied one, and lost to be on ten points.

For large parts there was very little to separate them in this contest too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro converted Reece James' delivery.

But Atalanta remained a danger going on the attack, with former Charlton and Everton attacker creating problems for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the second half but Atalanta increased the pressure and justly levelled when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they scored the winning goal in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a driven finish.

Chelsea tried to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a superb save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase matches left to play.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, jump up to third place, three points clear of the Blues.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Form Continues

This was a hugely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top eight finish they require to avoid the uncertainty of the play-offs.

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

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with nothing after securing the early advantage.

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

Since defeating Barcelona 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 Maresca enacted five alterations for this game as he persisted with his strategy of rotating players in and out of the first team.

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

The coach will see squad rotation as essential as he tries to manage players' workloads and compete both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for important games.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we did relative to the previous game it may be different but it is the eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The ones who played tonight are the individuals who feature in almost all the games."

What Next for These Teams?

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

Atalanta, on the other hand, host Athletic Bilbao at the same time.