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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta came from behind to win in Bergamo.

The two teams went into this match with identical points tallies in the initial stage of this season's competition, having won, tied one, and lost to be on 10 points.

For extended periods there was very little to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro converted the captain's delivery.

But The Serie A side always looked a threat going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the backline.

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

The winger drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they got the winner late on when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a low strike.

Chelsea attempted to salvage a point late on but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two group stage fixtures remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Sequence Persists

This was a extremely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to achieve the top-eight position they need to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta took full advantage.

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be departing with no points after securing the lead.

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

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

Excessive Changes Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this match as he persisted with his policy of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

The changes here came after he made the same number for the loss to Leeds United and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will see rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' minutes and compete both at home and in Europe, but he stated the central contingent of players remains the same for crucial games.

"I believe in this match [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, FC Barcelona, and the Gunners," he said.

"If you look at the five changes that we made compared to the previous game it is different but it involves the eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The players who played tonight are the individuals who feature in almost all the games."

Up Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next European fixture sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, host Athletic Club at the same time.