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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a last-gasp decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were suffered a setback as Atalanta came from behind to claim victory in their home stadium.

Each club went into this fixture with identical points tallies in the league phase of this season's competition, having won, drawn, and lost to have accrued 10 points.

For much of the game there was not much to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro finished the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side always looked a threat going on the attack, with former Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the backline.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team upped the pressure and deservedly equalised when former West Ham United striker nodded home a centering pass.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta got the winner late on when the Blues defence backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a powerful finish.

Chelsea tried to salvage a point late on but a brilliant stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures left to play.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Sequence Continues

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

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents capitalised completely.

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

But the wider issue is that this extends Chelsea's troubling run of form 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 matches.

Excessive Rotations Proving Costly?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this game as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here followed after he made the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

The coach will view rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' minutes and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the key nucleus of players stays the same for important games.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we did compared to Bournemouth it may be a change but it is the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The players who played tonight are the ones playing almost all the matches."

What Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.