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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker nets a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's chances of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to claim victory in their home stadium.

Each club entered this game with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this season's competition, having won, tied one, and lost to be on ten points.

For large parts there was little to distinguish them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the first half when Joao Pedro finished Reece James' cross.

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

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

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta got the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence retreated from the midfielder, who made no mistake with a driven shot.

The visitors attempted to rescue a point in stoppage time but a superb save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The result means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase fixtures remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Run Persists

This was a hugely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them well placed to secure the top eight finish they need to avoid the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italian side 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 no points after taking the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this extends Chelsea's concerning run of results in all tournaments.

Since beating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the end of November they are now without a win in their last four outings.

Too Many Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five rotations for this match as he continued his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

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

The coach will view rotation as essential as he tries to handle players' workloads and challenge both at home and abroad, but he insisted the core group of players remains the same for key games.

"I believe tonight [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham, Barcelona, and Arsenal," he stated.

"If you look at the five changes that we did relative to the previous game it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The ones who took to the field tonight are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."

What Next for These Clubs?

The Blues' next European game sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

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