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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead 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 home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to triumph in their home stadium.

Each club entered this game with identical points tallies in the league phase of this season's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For much of the game there was little to distinguish them in this encounter too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side always looked a danger going forwards, with ex- Premier League attacker creating problems for the backline.

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

The winger drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they got the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defence retreated from the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a low strike.

Chelsea attempted to salvage a point late on but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase games remaining.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, jump up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Persists

This was a deeply disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to achieve the top-eight finish they require to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with no points after securing the early advantage.

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

Since defeating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the end of November they are now winless in their last four matches.

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

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

Maresca will see rotation as necessary as he tries to manage players' fitness and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he stated the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for important games.

"I believe in this match [in] the starting lineup 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 did compared to the previous game it is different but it involves the eight or nine players playing in that match.

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

What's Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next Champions League game sees them welcome the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

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