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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta came from behind to triumph in Bergamo.

Each club went into this fixture with the same records in the initial stage of this season's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to sit on 10 points.

For extended periods there was not much to choose between them in this encounter too, although Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro converted the captain's delivery.

But Atalanta always looked a danger going on the attack, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the backline.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team increased the intensity and rightfully drew level when former West Ham United striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta secured the winner in the closing stages when the Blues defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a powerful strike.

The visitors tried to salvage a draw late on but a superb stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the spots that qualify automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase matches left to play.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Sequence Continues

This was a extremely disappointing 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 defence with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta capitalised completely.

The Italians 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 leaving with no points after taking the lead.

But the bigger picture is that this perpetuates Chelsea's troubling sequence of form in all competitions.

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

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five alterations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

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

The coach will see squad rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he maintained the central contingent of players stays the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we did compared to Bournemouth it may be a change but it involves the eight or nine players playing in that match.

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

Up Next for These Clubs?

The Blues' next European fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, host Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.