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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker scores a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to claim victory in Bergamo.

The two teams entered this game with identical records in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to sit on ten points.

For extended periods there was not much to choose between them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian converted Reece James' cross.

But The Serie A side always looked a threat going forward, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the second half but Atalanta raised the pressure and rightfully levelled when former West Ham United striker nodded home a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they scored the winner late on when the Blues defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a driven strike.

The visitors tried to salvage a point late on but a superb stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The result means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures left to play.

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Continues

This was a hugely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them well placed to secure the top-eight position they need to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta capitalised completely.

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

But the wider issue is that this extends Chelsea's concerning sequence of results 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 Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five changes for this match as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here followed after he made the identical amount for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

Maresca will view squad rotation as vital as he tries to manage players' fitness and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the core group of players remains the same for key fixtures.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we made compared to the previous game it is a change but it is the eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The ones who took to the field this evening are the individuals playing almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next European fixture sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, host Athletic Bilbao at the same time.