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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a late winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's chances of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta fought back to win in their home stadium.

The two teams went into this match with the same records in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having won, drawn, and lost to be on 10 points.

For large parts there was very little to separate them in this encounter too, although Chelsea went ahead in the first half when Joao Pedro finished the captain's delivery.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a danger going on the attack, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker creating problems for the defence.

James shot wide in the after the break but the home team increased the pressure and deservedly levelled when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but they got the winner in the closing stages when the Blues defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a driven finish.

The visitors tried to salvage a point late on but a superb save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the positions that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two league phase games remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Form Continues

This was a deeply disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to achieve the top-eight finish they require to bypass the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta took full advantage.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with no points after taking the lead.

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

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

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this game as he continued his run of moving players in and out of the first team.

The changes here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds United 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 manage players' fitness and compete both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the core group of players remains the unchanged for crucial games.

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

"If you see the five changes that we made compared to Bournemouth it is different but it involves the same eight or nine players playing in that match.

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

What Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next European fixture sees them host Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

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