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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a last-gasp 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 knockout phase.

The London club's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta came from behind to win in their home stadium.

The two teams went into this game with the same points tallies in the league phase of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to sit on ten points.

For extended periods there was not much to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in the captain's delivery.

But Atalanta remained a danger going forwards, with ex- Premier League attacker creating problems for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta upped the pressure and rightfully levelled when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a centering pass.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they scored the winner late on when the Chelsea defenders retreated from the midfielder, who made no mistake with a driven finish.

Chelsea tried to salvage a point late on but a superb save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase fixtures remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Form Continues

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

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with nothing after securing the early advantage.

But the wider issue is that this continues Chelsea's concerning sequence of results in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Rotations Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five changes for this match as he continued his policy of moving players in and out of the first team.

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

The coach will see rotation as vital as he tries to manage players' minutes and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he stated the core group of players remains the unchanged for crucial games.

"I believe tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, and Arsenal," he said.

"If you see the five changes that we made compared to the previous game it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

What Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next Champions League game sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Club at the same time.