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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp decisive goal for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the last 16.

The London club's chances of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents fought back to win in their home stadium.

The two teams entered this match with the same points tallies in the league phase of this season's competition, having won, tied one, and lost to have accrued 10 points.

For extended periods there was very little to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when the Brazilian converted the captain's cross.

But Atalanta consistently appeared a danger going forward, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the defence.

James fired wide in the second half but Atalanta raised the intensity and rightfully levelled when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but they secured the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a driven strike.

Chelsea tried to salvage a point in stoppage time but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase fixtures remaining.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, leap up to third place, three points clear of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Form Persists

This was a hugely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them well placed to secure the top-eight finish they require to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents took full advantage.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be departing with nothing after taking the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this extends Chelsea's worrying streak of results in all competitions.

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

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this game as he persisted with his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here followed after he made the same number for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

The coach will view squad rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' workloads and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he insisted the central contingent of players remains the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

"I think in this match [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, FC Barcelona, and Arsenal," he said.

"If you see the five changes that we made relative to the previous game it is different but it involves the same eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

What's Next for These Sides?

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

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.