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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were suffered a setback as Atalanta came from behind to triumph in their home stadium.

The two teams went into this fixture with identical points tallies in the initial stage of this season's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to sit on ten points.

For much of the game there was little to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro finished Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side always looked a danger going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the defence.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team increased the intensity and justly drew level when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they secured the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence retreated from the midfielder, who took full advantage with a powerful shot.

Chelsea attempted to rescue a point late on but a superb stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase fixtures left to play.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Sequence Continues

This was a deeply frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to achieve the top eight finish they need to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents seized the moment.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be departing with nothing after taking the lead.

But the broader context is that this continues Chelsea's troubling 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.

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

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

The rotations here came after he made the identical amount for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

Maresca will see squad rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the key nucleus of players stays the unchanged for important fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we made compared to Bournemouth it is different but it is the eight or nine players who played in that match.

"The players who took to the field tonight are the ones playing almost all the matches."

What Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next European fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

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