🔗 Share this article

At a Glance

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's chances of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta came from behind to win in their home stadium.

Both sides went into this match with the same points tallies in the league phase of this season's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For much of the game there was not much to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in Reece James' cross.

But The Serie A side always looked a threat going forward, with ex- Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but Atalanta upped 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 Atalanta secured the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a driven finish.

Chelsea tried to salvage a point in stoppage time but a superb stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage fixtures remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Sequence Continues

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

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta 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 Blues, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with no points after taking the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this continues Chelsea's concerning run of results in all competitions.

Since defeating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the end of November they are now without a win in their last four games.

Excessive Changes Proving Costly?

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

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

Maresca will see rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' workloads and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he maintained the key nucleus of players remains the same for crucial games.

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

"If you see the five changes that we made compared to the previous game it may be different but it involves the same 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 matches."

Up Next for These Teams?

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

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