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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's hopes of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were hit hard as Atalanta overturned a deficit to claim victory in Bergamo.

Both sides entered this game with identical records in the league phase of this year's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to be on ten points.

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

But Atalanta always looked a threat going forward, with ex- Premier League attacker creating issues for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta increased the pressure and justly 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 winning goal in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a powerful strike.

Chelsea tried to salvage a draw late on but a excellent stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage games remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Form Continues

This was a hugely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to achieve the top-eight position they require to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in rich vein of form 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 nothing after taking the early advantage.

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

Since beating Barcelona 3-0 at the end of November they are now winless in their last four outings.

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five alterations for this game as he continued his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

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

The coach will view squad rotation as necessary as he attempts to handle players' workloads and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the key nucleus of players stays the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

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

"If you see the five changes that we did compared to Bournemouth it may be a change but it involves the 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 games."

What Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them host Pafos on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.