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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's hopes of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were hit hard as their Italian opponents fought back to claim victory in Bergamo.

Both sides entered this game with matching points tallies in the league phase of this season's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to have accrued 10 points.

For extended periods there was little to distinguish them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when Joao Pedro finished Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side always looked a danger going forward, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but Atalanta raised the intensity and rightfully levelled when ex-West Ham striker headed in a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the winning goal late on when the Blues defenders retreated from the midfielder, who made no mistake with a driven shot.

The visitors attempted to rescue a point in stoppage time but a superb stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The result means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase games remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Continues

This was a extremely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to secure the top-eight finish they require to bypass the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta took full advantage.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be departing with nothing after securing the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this extends Chelsea's concerning streak of results in all competitions.

Since defeating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the end of November they are now without a win in their last four games.

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five changes for this match as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

The rotations here followed after he implemented the same number for the loss to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

The coach will view squad rotation as essential as he tries to handle players' fitness and compete both at home and abroad, but he stated the central contingent of players remains the same for important fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we made compared to the previous game it is different but it is the eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

What's Next for These Clubs?

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

Atalanta, meanwhile, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.