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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were hit hard as Atalanta fought back to triumph in their home stadium.

Both sides entered this game with the same records in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to be on ten points.

For extended periods there was not much to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the first half when the Brazilian converted the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side always looked a danger going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but the home team upped the intensity and justly drew level when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta secured the winning goal late on when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a powerful shot.

Chelsea attempted to salvage a point late on but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The result means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase matches remaining.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Persists

This was a extremely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them well placed to secure the top-eight finish they need to bypass the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes left on the clock 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 wider issue is that this extends Chelsea's troubling streak of form in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Rotations Proving Costly?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca enacted five alterations for this game as he continued his policy of moving players in and out of the first team.

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

Maresca will see rotation as necessary as he tries to manage players' minutes and compete both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the key nucleus of players stays the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we did relative to Bournemouth it may be a change but it is the same eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

Up Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next Champions League game sees them host Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

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