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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker nets a late winner for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta fought back to win in Bergamo.

Both sides went into this fixture with matching records in the initial stage of this year's competition, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to be on 10 points.

For extended periods there was very little to choose between them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a threat going forward, with ex- Premier League attacker causing problems for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but the home team upped the intensity and deservedly levelled when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the winning goal late on when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a low shot.

The visitors attempted to salvage a point late on but a excellent stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

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

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Run Persists

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

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be departing with nothing after securing the lead.

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

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

Too Many Rotations Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five rotations for this game as he persisted with his policy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here followed after he made the same number for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

Maresca will view rotation as vital as he tries to manage players' minutes and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he stated the central contingent of players remains the unchanged for key games.

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

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

"The ones who played this evening are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."

Up Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next European fixture sees them host Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Club at the same time.