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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a late winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's hopes of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were suffered a setback as Atalanta fought back to win in their home stadium.

The two teams entered this match with the same records in the initial stage of this year's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to sit on 10 points.

For extended periods there was not much to distinguish them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta consistently appeared a threat going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker creating problems for the backline.

James shot wide in the second half but the home team increased the pressure and deservedly drew level when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but they scored the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a driven strike.

Chelsea tried to salvage a draw in stoppage time but a brilliant stop by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures left to play.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, jump up to third place, three points ahead of the Blues.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Continues

This was a extremely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to achieve the top-eight position they require to avoid the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta took full advantage.

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be departing with nothing after securing the lead.

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

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

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this game as he persisted with his policy of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

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 Atalanta.

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

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

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

"The players who took to the field this evening are the individuals who feature in almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Clubs?

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

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.