The Blues' Hopes Hit by Reverse at Bergamo

Match Summary

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's chances of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to claim victory in Bergamo.

The two teams entered this game with matching points tallies in the league phase of this year's tournament, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to have accrued ten points.

For much of the game there was very little to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian turned in Reece James' delivery.

But Atalanta remained a danger going forwards, with ex- Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the defence.

James shot wide in the after the break but the home team raised the pressure and deservedly drew level when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta scored the winner in the closing stages when the Blues defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a driven strike.

Chelsea tried to salvage a draw late on but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase fixtures remaining.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, jump up to third place, three points clear of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Persists

This was a extremely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them well placed to achieve the top eight position they require to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents took full advantage.

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

But the broader context is that this continues Chelsea's troubling run of form in all competitions.

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

Excessive Changes Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this match as he persisted with his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

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

The coach will see squad rotation as necessary as he tries to handle players' fitness and compete both at domestically and abroad, but he insisted the core group of players remains the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

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

"If you see the five changes that we made compared to the previous game it is different but it is the same eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

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

What Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next European fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, host Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.