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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker nets a late winner for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the league phase of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's hopes of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were hit hard as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to claim victory in their home stadium.

Both sides entered this fixture with matching points tallies in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For extended periods there was very little to choose between them in this encounter too, although Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished Reece James' delivery.

But Atalanta consistently appeared a threat going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker causing problems for the defence.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team raised the intensity and rightfully equalised when former West Ham United striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but they got the decisive strike late on when the Chelsea defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a powerful finish.

The visitors attempted to salvage a point in stoppage time but a superb stop by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two group stage matches left to play.

Atalanta, meanwhile, jump up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Persists

This was a extremely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to secure the top eight position they require to bypass the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

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

The Italian side are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with no points after taking the lead.

But the broader context is that this extends Chelsea's troubling streak of form in all competitions.

Since beating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the end of November they are now winless in their last four games.

Excessive Changes Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this match as he continued his run of rotating players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here followed after he made the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

The coach will see rotation as essential as he tries to handle players' minutes and challenge both at home and abroad, but he insisted the central contingent of players remains the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we did compared to Bournemouth it is different but it is the same eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

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

What's Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next Champions League game sees them host Pafos on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Club at the same time.