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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a late winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the league phase of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were hit hard as Atalanta overturned a deficit to win in Bergamo.

Both sides went into this fixture with the same records in the initial stage of this year's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For large parts there was little to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian finished Reece James' cross.

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

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but the home team increased the intensity and rightfully levelled when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a centering pass.

The winger drove a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they got the winner late on when the Chelsea defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a powerful finish.

The visitors tried to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a superb save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase games remaining.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Sequence Continues

This was a deeply disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to secure the top-eight position they need to bypass the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus 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 challenging test for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with nothing after securing the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this extends Chelsea's concerning streak of form in all competitions.

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

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this game as he persisted with his run of rotating players in and out of the first team.

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

The coach will view rotation as vital as he attempts to handle players' minutes and compete both at home and abroad, but he maintained the core group of players stays the unchanged for key games.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we made compared to the previous game it may be a change but it involves the same eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The ones who took to the field tonight are the individuals playing almost all the games."

What Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

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