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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's chances of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to win in their home stadium.

Each club entered this fixture with identical records in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to be on 10 points.

For extended periods there was little to separate them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when Joao Pedro converted Reece James' delivery.

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

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta increased the intensity and rightfully levelled when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they scored the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Blues defenders retreated from the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a low shot.

The visitors tried to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a brilliant save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase games left to play.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Run Persists

This was a deeply disappointing result for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them well placed to achieve the top eight position they need to bypass the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta capitalised completely.

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with nothing after securing the lead.

But the broader context is that this extends Chelsea's worrying streak of results in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Rotations Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five alterations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the first team.

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

Maresca will view rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' minutes and compete both at home and abroad, but he insisted the core group of players stays the same for key fixtures.

"I think in this match [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, Barcelona, and Arsenal," he stated.

"If you see the five alterations that we made relative to the previous game it may be different but it involves the eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The ones who took to the field tonight are the individuals playing almost all the games."

What's Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next Champions League game sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

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