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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the last 16.

The London club's chances of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were suffered a setback as Atalanta fought back to win in their home stadium.

Each club went into this fixture with the same records in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to be on 10 points.

For extended periods there was very little to distinguish them in this encounter too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when Joao Pedro finished the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a danger going forwards, with ex- Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the second half but Atalanta raised the pressure and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger drove a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the decisive strike late on when the Blues defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a powerful strike.

Chelsea tried to rescue a draw late on but a brilliant stop by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage games remaining.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Sequence Persists

This was a deeply disappointing result for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them well placed to secure the top eight finish they require to bypass the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

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

The Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be departing with no points after taking the early advantage.

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

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

Too Many Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

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

The changes here followed after he made the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will see rotation as necessary as he attempts to manage players' minutes and compete both at home and abroad, but he maintained the core group of players stays the unchanged for important games.

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

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

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

What's Next for These Clubs?

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

Atalanta, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.