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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's hopes of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were hit hard as their Italian opponents fought back to triumph in their home stadium.

The two teams went into this match with matching records in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to be on 10 points.

For extended periods there was little to separate them in this contest too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian finished the captain's delivery.

But Atalanta remained a danger going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker creating problems for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta increased the intensity and deservedly drew level when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but they scored the winning goal in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a low finish.

The visitors attempted to salvage a point in stoppage time but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two league phase fixtures left to play.

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Form Continues

This was a hugely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to achieve the top eight position they require to avoid the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta seized the moment.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with nothing after taking the lead.

But the broader context is that this continues Chelsea's troubling streak of form in all competitions.

Since beating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the close of November they are now winless in their last four matches.

Excessive Changes Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this game as he continued his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

The changes here came after he implemented the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

The coach will view squad rotation as vital as he attempts to handle players' workloads and compete both at domestically and abroad, but he maintained the key nucleus of players stays the same for key games.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we made relative to Bournemouth it may be different but it is the eight or nine players playing in that match.

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

What's Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next European fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.