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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker scores a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• 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 overturned a deficit to claim victory in their home stadium.

The two teams went into this match with the same points tallies in the league phase of this season's tournament, having won, tied one, and lost to be on 10 points.

For extended periods there was not much to distinguish them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished Reece James' delivery.

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

James fired wide in the second half but Atalanta upped the intensity and rightfully drew level when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they secured the decisive strike late on when the Chelsea defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a low shot.

Chelsea tried to salvage a point late on but a brilliant save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the spots that qualify automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase fixtures remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Persists

This was a hugely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them well placed to secure the top eight position they need to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents seized the moment.

The Italian side are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be departing with nothing after taking the early advantage.

But the wider issue is that this perpetuates Chelsea's concerning run of results in all competitions.

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

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five rotations for this game as he continued his run of moving players in and out of the first team.

The changes here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

Maresca will view squad rotation as necessary as he attempts to handle players' minutes and compete both at domestically and abroad, but he stated the key nucleus of players stays the same for crucial fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we made relative to the previous game it is a change but it involves the same eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

What's Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next Champions League game sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, host Athletic Club at the same time.