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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late winner for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to 11th 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 knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta overturned a deficit to win in their home stadium.

Both sides entered this match with matching records in the league phase of this season's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to be on ten points.

For large parts there was very little to choose between them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro turned in the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side remained a threat going forwards, with former Premier League attacker creating issues for the backline.

James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta upped the pressure and deservedly equalised when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they got the winner in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence retreated from the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a low strike.

The visitors attempted to rescue a draw late on but a superb save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase fixtures remaining.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Run Persists

This was a deeply frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to achieve the top eight finish they need to avoid the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta seized the moment.

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be departing with no points after securing the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this extends Chelsea's troubling run of form in all competitions.

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

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

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

The changes here came after he made the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

Maresca will see squad rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' minutes and challenge both at home and abroad, but he insisted the core group of players stays the unchanged for important games.

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

"If you see the five changes that we made compared to the previous game it may be different but it involves the same eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The players who played tonight are the ones playing almost all the games."

What Next for These Sides?

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

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