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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to claim victory in Bergamo.

Each club went into this game with identical records in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having won, drawn, and lost to be on 10 points.

For large parts there was little to separate them in this encounter too, although Chelsea went ahead in the first half when the Brazilian finished the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side always looked a danger going forwards, with former Premier League attacker causing issues for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but the home team raised the pressure and justly levelled when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a centering pass.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but they got the winning goal in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a powerful finish.

Chelsea attempted to rescue a draw late on but a superb stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase games left to play.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Continues

This was a extremely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to secure the top-eight position they require to avoid the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta seized the moment.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be departing with nothing after securing the early advantage.

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

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

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this game as he persisted with his run of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here came after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will view squad rotation as essential as he tries to manage players' minutes and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the central contingent of players remains the unchanged for crucial games.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we did compared to Bournemouth it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The ones who took to the field this evening are the ones playing almost all the games."

What Next for These Sides?

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

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