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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's hopes of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta fought back to claim victory in their home stadium.

Each club entered this fixture with the same records in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued ten points.

For much of the game there was not much to choose between them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro finished the captain's delivery.

But Atalanta remained a danger going forward, with former Premier League attacker creating issues for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta increased the pressure and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who took full advantage with a low shot.

The visitors tried to rescue a point in stoppage time but a superb save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage fixtures remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Form Continues

This was a hugely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them in a strong position to achieve the top-eight finish they need to bypass the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with nothing after taking the lead.

But the broader context is that this perpetuates Chelsea's worrying streak of results in all competitions.

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

Too Many Changes Proving Costly?

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

The changes here came after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

Maresca will view rotation as necessary as he attempts to handle players' fitness and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the core group of players stays the same for key games.

"I believe tonight [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham Hotspur, FC Barcelona, and Arsenal," he stated.

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

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

What Next for These Sides?

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

Atalanta, on the other hand, host Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.