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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's hopes of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were hit hard as Atalanta fought back to claim victory in Bergamo.

The two teams went into this fixture with the same records in the league phase of this season's tournament, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to be on ten points.

For extended periods there was not much to choose between them in this contest too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro converted Reece James' delivery.

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

James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta increased the pressure and rightfully drew level when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but they secured the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Blues defence retreated from the midfielder, who made no mistake with a powerful strike.

The visitors attempted to salvage a point in stoppage time but a excellent stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase games remaining.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, climb up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Run Persists

This was a extremely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top eight position they need to avoid the lottery of the play-offs.

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

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

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

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

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca enacted five alterations for this match as he continued his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here came after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

The coach will see squad rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he insisted the core group of players remains the same for crucial fixtures.

"I think in this match [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham, FC Barcelona, and Arsenal," he commented.

"If you look at the five alterations that we made compared to the previous game it is a change but it is the eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

What Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next Champions League fixture sees them welcome Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

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