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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a late decisive goal for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's chances of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents came from behind to claim victory in their home stadium.

The two teams went into this fixture with the same records in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to sit on 10 points.

For much of the game there was not much to distinguish them in this encounter too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side always looked a danger going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the defence.

James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta upped the pressure and rightfully equalised when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but they secured the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a low strike.

The visitors attempted to salvage a point late on but a brilliant save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The result means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures remaining.

Atalanta, meanwhile, climb up to third place, three points ahead of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Form Continues

This was a extremely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top-eight finish they need to avoid the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

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

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with no points after taking the early advantage.

But the wider issue is that this extends Chelsea's worrying run of results in all tournaments.

Since beating Barcelona 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?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this match as he continued his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here came after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

The coach will view squad rotation as vital as he tries to manage players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he stated the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for important fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we made compared to the previous game it may be different but it is the same eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

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

Up Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next European game sees them welcome the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Club at the same time.