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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a last-gasp decisive goal for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's hopes of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to win in Bergamo.

Both sides entered this match with identical records in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued ten points.

For extended periods there was very little to distinguish them in this contest too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro finished Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side remained a threat going forwards, with former Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the backline.

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

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but they got the winner late on when the Blues defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a powerful finish.

The visitors tried to rescue a point in stoppage time but a excellent stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase matches remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Continues

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

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

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be departing with nothing after taking the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's troubling streak of form in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Rotations Proving Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five changes for this game as he continued his policy of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

The changes here came after he implemented the same number for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will see rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' minutes and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he maintained the central contingent of players remains the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

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

"If you see the five changes that we did compared to the previous game it may be different but it involves the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

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

Up Next for These Clubs?

The Blues' next European fixture sees them welcome Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

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