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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's chances of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents came from behind to win in their home stadium.

Each club entered this game with identical points tallies in the league phase of this year's tournament, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to be on 10 points.

For extended periods there was little to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when the Brazilian converted Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side remained a danger going on the attack, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta upped the intensity and justly equalised when former West Ham United striker nodded home a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they scored the winner late on when the Blues defence backed off the midfielder, who made no mistake with a powerful strike.

The visitors tried to rescue a point late on but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase matches left to play.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, leap up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Form Persists

This was a hugely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to secure the top eight finish they require to avoid the lottery of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta took full advantage.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with nothing after taking the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this continues Chelsea's troubling sequence of results in all tournaments.

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

Excessive Changes Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this game as he persisted with his run of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

The rotations here followed after he made the identical amount for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will see squad rotation as vital as he attempts to handle players' minutes and compete both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the core group of players stays the same for key games.

"I believe tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, Barcelona, and the Gunners," he stated.

"If you see the five changes that we made relative to Bournemouth it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The ones who played this evening are the individuals playing almost all the games."

Up Next for These Clubs?

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

Atalanta, on the other hand, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.