🔗 Share this article

Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's chances of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were suffered a setback as Atalanta fought back to claim victory in Bergamo.

The two teams entered this fixture with matching records in the league phase of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to be on ten points.

For large parts there was not much to separate them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the first half when Joao Pedro finished the captain's cross.

But Atalanta remained a threat going forward, with former Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the backline.

James fired wide in the after the break but the home team increased the pressure and justly levelled when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who took full advantage with a low shot.

The visitors tried to salvage a draw in stoppage time but a excellent stop by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two league phase fixtures remaining.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Sequence Continues

This was a deeply frustrating result for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them in a strong position to secure the top eight position they need to avoid the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta capitalised completely.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be departing with no points after taking the early advantage.

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

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

Excessive Rotations Proving Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five changes for this game as he continued his run of rotating players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

Maresca will see rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' workloads and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he insisted the core group 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 Arsenal," he said.

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

"The players who took to the field this evening are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."

What Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next Champions League fixture sees them host Pafos on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

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