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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a late winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the last 16.

The London club's hopes of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were hit hard as their Italian opponents came from behind to claim victory in Bergamo.

Both sides entered this match with the same points tallies in the league phase of this season's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to have accrued 10 points.

For much of the game there was not much to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian converted Reece James' delivery.

But Atalanta always looked a danger going on the attack, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker creating problems for the backline.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team upped the pressure and justly levelled when ex-West Ham striker headed in a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the decisive strike late on when the Blues defence backed off the midfielder, who took full advantage with a low strike.

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

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

The Bergamo club, in contrast, jump up to third place, three points clear of the Blues.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Persists

This was a extremely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them well placed to secure the top-eight finish they require to avoid the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with no points after taking the early advantage.

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

Since defeating Barcelona 3-0 at the close of November they are now winless in their last four games.

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five changes for this match as he persisted with his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

The rotations here came after he made the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

The coach will view rotation as necessary as he tries to handle players' minutes and challenge both at home and abroad, but he stated the central contingent of players stays the unchanged for important fixtures.

"I think in this match [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, and the Gunners," he said.

"If you see the five alterations that we did relative to the previous game it is a change but it involves the same eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The ones who played this evening are the individuals playing almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next Champions League game sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

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