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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the last 16.

The London club's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents came from behind to triumph in their home stadium.

The two teams entered this game with matching records in the initial stage of this season's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued ten points.

For large parts there was little to distinguish them in this encounter too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro converted the captain's cross.

But Atalanta remained a threat going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker creating issues for the backline.

James shot wide in the after the break but the home team increased the pressure and rightfully levelled when former West Ham United striker nodded home a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta got the winner in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a driven strike.

The visitors attempted to rescue a draw late on but a brilliant stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two group stage games remaining.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, leap up to third, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Persists

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

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes remaining and their opponents seized the moment.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with no points after securing the lead.

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

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

Too Many Rotations Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the first team.

The changes here came after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

Maresca will see rotation as essential as he tries to handle players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he insisted the central contingent of players stays the unchanged for important games.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we made compared to Bournemouth it is different but it involves the eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

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

What's Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them welcome Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

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