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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a last-gasp decisive goal for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop 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 European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta came from behind to claim victory in their home stadium.

Each club went into this fixture with identical records in the league phase of this year's competition, having won, tied one, and lost to have accrued 10 points.

For extended periods there was very little to separate them in this contest too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro turned in the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side remained a threat going forward, with ex- Premier League attacker causing issues for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but the home team upped the intensity and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta scored the decisive strike late on when the Blues defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a low strike.

Chelsea tried to rescue a point in stoppage time but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase fixtures left to play.

Atalanta, meanwhile, jump up to third place, three points clear of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Persists

This was a deeply disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them well placed to achieve the top eight finish they require to avoid the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta took full advantage.

The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with no points after securing the lead.

But the bigger picture is that this extends Chelsea's troubling streak of results in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

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

The rotations here came after he made the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will see rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the central contingent of players stays the same for important fixtures.

"I believe tonight [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham Hotspur, FC Barcelona, and the Gunners," he said.

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

"The ones who took to the field tonight are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."

Up Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next European fixture sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.