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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the interval and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a last-gasp decisive goal for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the league phase of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's hopes of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were hit hard as Atalanta fought back to triumph in Bergamo.

Each club entered this match with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For extended periods there was little to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian converted Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta always looked a threat going forward, with former Premier League attacker causing issues for the backline.

Reece James fired 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 drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta scored the winner in the closing stages when the Blues defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a low shot.

Chelsea tried to salvage a draw in stoppage time but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase matches left to play.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, leap up to third place, three points ahead of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Sequence Continues

This was a hugely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to achieve the top-eight finish they require to avoid the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

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

The Italian side are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with no points after taking the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this perpetuates Chelsea's worrying sequence 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 matches.

Excessive Rotations Proving Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five rotations for this game as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

The coach will see rotation as necessary as he tries to handle players' minutes and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the core group of players remains the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

"I think tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham, 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 same eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

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

What Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next European fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.