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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's chances of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta came from behind to claim victory in Bergamo.

Each club entered this game with matching records in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to be on ten points.

For much of the game there was little to choose between them in this contest too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian converted the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side always looked a danger going forwards, with former Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the backline.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but the home team increased the intensity and deservedly drew level when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they scored the decisive strike late on when the Blues defence backed off the midfielder, who made no mistake with a driven shot.

The visitors tried to rescue a draw late on but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase fixtures left to play.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, climb up to third place, three points clear of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Form Persists

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

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents seized the moment.

The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be departing with nothing after securing the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this extends Chelsea's concerning streak of form in all competitions.

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

Excessive Changes Proving Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five rotations for this match as he continued his policy of rotating players in and out of the first team.

The changes here followed after he implemented the same number for the defeat to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

The coach will see squad rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for key fixtures.

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

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

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

Up Next for These Clubs?

The Blues' next European game sees them welcome the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, host Athletic Bilbao at the same time.