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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late winner for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta fought back to win in their home stadium.

The two teams went into this fixture with matching records in the initial stage of this season's competition, having won, drawn, and lost to have accrued 10 points.

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

But The Serie A side remained a threat going on the attack, with ex- Premier League attacker creating problems for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta upped the pressure and rightfully drew level when former West Ham United striker headed in a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta got the winner late on when the Chelsea defenders backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a powerful shot.

The visitors attempted to rescue a point in stoppage time but a superb save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Pedro.

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

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Run Persists

This was a hugely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to achieve the top eight finish they require to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lacked concentration 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 test for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be departing with nothing after securing the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's concerning streak of results in all competitions.

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

Excessive Rotations Proving Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five alterations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

The changes here followed after he implemented the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

The coach will see rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' workloads and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he maintained the central contingent of players remains the same for important fixtures.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we made compared to the previous game it is different but it is the eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The players who played this evening are the individuals playing almost all the matches."

What Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next European fixture sees them host Pafos on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.