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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the last 16.

The London club's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to triumph in their home stadium.

Both sides entered this fixture with identical records in the league phase of this season's tournament, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For large parts there was little to distinguish them in this contest too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian finished the captain's delivery.

But Atalanta consistently appeared a threat going forwards, with ex- Premier League attacker causing issues for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the second half but the home team raised the intensity and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker headed in a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta scored the winning goal late on when the Chelsea defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a low shot.

Chelsea tried to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the spots that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two group stage games left to play.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, jump up to third place, three points clear of the Blues.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Run Continues

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

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

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with no points after securing the early advantage.

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

Since beating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the close of November they are now winless in their last four outings.

Excessive Changes Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five alterations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of rotating players in and out of the first team.

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

The coach will view squad rotation as necessary as he attempts to handle players' workloads and compete both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the central contingent of players remains the unchanged for important games.

"I think tonight [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, FC Barcelona, and the Gunners," he said.

"If you see the five alterations that we did compared to Bournemouth it may be different but it involves the eight or nine players who played in that match.

"The players who played this evening are the individuals playing almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next European game sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

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