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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker nets a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were suffered a setback as Atalanta fought back to claim victory in Bergamo.

Both sides went into this fixture with identical records in the initial stage of this season's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to be on 10 points.

For much of the game there was not much to distinguish them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta always looked a danger going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the defence.

James shot wide in the second half but Atalanta upped the pressure and rightfully drew level when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the winner late on when the Blues defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a driven shot.

The visitors attempted to rescue 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 spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage games left to play.

Atalanta, meanwhile, climb up to third, three points clear of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Run Continues

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

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes remaining and their opponents took full advantage.

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with nothing after securing the early advantage.

But the wider issue is that this extends Chelsea's worrying streak of results in all tournaments.

Since beating Barcelona 3-0 at the close of November they are now without a win in their last four outings.

Too Many Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca enacted five rotations for this match as he persisted with his policy of rotating players in and out of the first team.

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

The coach will see rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' workloads and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he stated the central contingent of players stays the same for crucial fixtures.

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

"If you see the five changes that we did compared to the previous game it may be different but it involves the eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The ones who took to the field this evening are the ones who feature in almost all the games."

What Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next Champions League fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Club at the same time.