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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's hopes of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta overturned a deficit to triumph in their home stadium.

Both sides went into this game with matching points tallies in the league phase of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to be on ten points.

For large parts there was little to separate them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian converted Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a danger going on the attack, with ex- Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the backline.

James fired wide in the second half but Atalanta increased the intensity and justly equalised when ex-West Ham striker headed in a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the winner in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who took full advantage with a driven strike.

Chelsea tried to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a excellent stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The result means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the spots that qualify automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase games left to play.

Atalanta, in contrast, jump up to third, three points clear of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Continues

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

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta seized the moment.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be departing with nothing after securing the early advantage.

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

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

Excessive Changes Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five rotations for this game as he continued his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

The rotations here came after he implemented the same number for the loss to Leeds United and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

Maresca will view rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' workloads and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he insisted the key nucleus of players remains the same for key games.

"I think tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham, FC Barcelona, and the Gunners," he stated.

"If you look at the five changes that we made relative to Bournemouth it may be a change but it involves the eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

What Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next Champions League game sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, host Athletic Bilbao at the same time.