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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker scores a last-gasp decisive goal for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were suffered a setback as Atalanta came from behind to triumph in Bergamo.

Each club entered this match with identical points tallies in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to be on ten points.

For much of the game there was little to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished the captain's cross.

But Atalanta consistently appeared a danger going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the defence.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team increased the pressure and deservedly equalised when former West Ham United striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but they scored the winner late on when the Blues defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a driven strike.

The visitors attempted to salvage a point in stoppage time but a superb save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The result means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase matches remaining.

Atalanta, in contrast, climb up to third place, three points ahead of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Form Persists

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

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and their opponents took full advantage.

The Italians are in good form 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 taking the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this perpetuates Chelsea's concerning run of form in all competitions.

Since beating Barcelona 3-0 at the close of November they are now winless in their last four games.

Too Many Changes Proving Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five alterations for this match as he continued his strategy of rotating players in and out of the first team.

The changes here came after he implemented the same number for the loss to Leeds United and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will see rotation as essential as he tries to manage players' minutes and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the core group of players remains the unchanged for crucial games.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we made compared to Bournemouth it may be a change but it is the eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The players who played this evening are the individuals who feature in almost all the games."

Up Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, host Athletic Club at the same time.