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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta overturned a deficit to triumph in their home stadium.

The two teams went into this fixture with the same records in the league phase of this season's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to sit on ten points.

For much of the game there was not much to separate them in this encounter too, although Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian converted the captain's delivery.

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

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

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but they got the winner late on when the Chelsea defenders retreated from the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a low strike.

Chelsea attempted to salvage a draw late on but a brilliant save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase fixtures remaining.

Atalanta, meanwhile, leap up to third, three points clear of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Continues

This was a hugely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top eight finish they need to bypass the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta capitalised completely.

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

But the wider issue is that this extends Chelsea's troubling sequence of results in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Rotations Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five changes for this game as he persisted with his run of moving players in and out of the first team.

The changes here followed after he made 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 manage players' workloads and compete both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the key nucleus of players remains the same for key fixtures.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we did relative to Bournemouth it may be a change but it involves the same eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

Up Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next Champions League game sees them welcome Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

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