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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp decisive goal for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the last 16.

The London club's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were hit hard as their Italian opponents came from behind to claim victory in Bergamo.

Both sides went into this match with the same records in the league phase of this year's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to have accrued ten points.

For much of the game there was very little to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when the Brazilian turned in the captain's delivery.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a threat going forwards, with ex- Premier League attacker causing issues for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but the home team upped the pressure and deservedly levelled when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta secured the winner late on when the Chelsea defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a low finish.

Chelsea attempted to salvage a draw in stoppage time but a superb stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two group stage fixtures left to play.

Atalanta, in contrast, climb up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Form Continues

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

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

The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with no points after taking the early advantage.

But the wider issue is that this continues Chelsea's troubling run of form in all tournaments.

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

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

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

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

The coach will view squad rotation as essential as he tries to handle players' workloads and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he insisted the key nucleus of players stays the same for important games.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we did compared to Bournemouth it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players playing in that match.

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

What Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next European game sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.