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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker nets a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents came from behind to claim victory in Bergamo.

The two teams went into this game with matching points tallies in the initial stage of this season's competition, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to sit on ten points.

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

But Atalanta remained a danger going forwards, with ex- Premier League attacker creating issues for the backline.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but the home team raised the intensity and deservedly levelled when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta scored the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a driven shot.

Chelsea attempted to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a excellent stop by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two league phase games remaining.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, leap up to third place, three points clear of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Form Continues

This was a hugely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to achieve the top eight finish they need to avoid the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lacked concentration 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 disappointed to be departing with no points after taking the early advantage.

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

Since beating Barcelona 3-0 at the close of November they are now winless in their last four matches.

Too Many Changes Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five changes for this game as he continued his run of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

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

Maresca will view squad rotation as necessary as he attempts to handle players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the core group of players remains the unchanged for key games.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we did relative to Bournemouth it is different but it involves the eight or nine players who played in that match.

"The ones who took to the field this evening are the individuals playing almost all the matches."

What Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next Champions League game sees them welcome Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

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