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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the last 16.

The London club's hopes of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were suffered a setback as Atalanta came from behind to win in their home stadium.

Each club went into this match with matching records in the initial stage of this year's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to be on ten points.

For extended periods there was very little to separate them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian turned in the captain's delivery.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a danger going forward, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but the home team increased the intensity and rightfully levelled when former West Ham United striker nodded home a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta secured the decisive strike late on when the Chelsea defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a low shot.

The visitors attempted to salvage a draw in stoppage time but a excellent stop by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two league phase games remaining.

Atalanta, in contrast, climb up to third, three points clear of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Sequence Persists

This was a hugely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to achieve the top-eight position they require to avoid the lottery of the play-offs.

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

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with no points after taking the early advantage.

But the wider issue is that this perpetuates Chelsea's concerning run of form in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Rotations Proving Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five rotations for this match as he persisted with his run of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here followed after he made the identical amount for the loss to Leeds United and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will see squad rotation as vital as he attempts to handle players' workloads and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the key nucleus of players remains the same for important fixtures.

"I think tonight [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, and Arsenal," he commented.

"If you look at the five alterations that we made relative to the previous game it is different but it involves the eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

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

Up Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next European fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.