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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a late winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta overturned a deficit to win in Bergamo.

Each club went into this fixture with matching records in the initial stage of this season's competition, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For much of the game there was very little to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side remained a danger going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but the home team increased the intensity and rightfully levelled when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a centering pass.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta scored the decisive strike late on when the Blues defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a driven shot.

The visitors attempted to salvage a draw late on but a brilliant save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two group stage matches left to play.

Atalanta, in contrast, leap up to third place, three points ahead of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Persists

This was a extremely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to achieve the top eight position they need to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta capitalised completely.

The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be departing with nothing after taking the early advantage.

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

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

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

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

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

Maresca will see rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' minutes and compete both at domestically and abroad, but he stated the central contingent of players remains the same for key fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we did relative to Bournemouth it is different but it involves the eight or nine players playing in that match.

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

What's Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, host Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.