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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

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

The two teams went into this fixture with identical records in the initial stage of this year's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to have accrued ten points.

For large parts there was very little to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the first half when Joao Pedro turned in Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side always looked a danger going forward, with former Premier League attacker causing issues for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but the home team upped the pressure and justly drew level when former West Ham United striker nodded home a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta scored the winner in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a low strike.

Chelsea attempted to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a brilliant save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

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

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

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Persists

This was a deeply frustrating result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to achieve the top eight position they need to avoid the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

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

The Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with no points after securing the early advantage.

But the wider issue is that this continues Chelsea's concerning sequence of results 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 matches.

Too Many Changes Proving Expensive?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this match as he continued his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here followed after he implemented the same number for the loss to Leeds United and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

The coach will see squad rotation as necessary as he tries to manage players' workloads and compete both at domestically and abroad, but he maintained the key nucleus of players stays the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we did relative to the previous game it may be 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 who feature in almost all the matches."

Up Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next Champions League game sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.