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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's chances of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents fought back to claim victory in their home stadium.

The two teams entered this fixture with matching records in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to be on ten points.

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

But Atalanta remained a danger going forwards, with ex- Premier League attacker causing issues for the backline.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta upped the pressure and rightfully levelled when former West Ham United striker headed in a cross.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta scored the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a low finish.

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

The result means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase fixtures left to play.

Atalanta, meanwhile, leap up to third, three points ahead of the Blues.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Form Continues

This was a extremely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to secure the top-eight finish they require to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents seized the moment.

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be departing with no points after securing the lead.

But the broader context is that this extends Chelsea's worrying streak of results in all tournaments.

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

Excessive Rotations Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this match as he persisted with his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

The rotations here came after he made the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

Maresca will see rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the core group of players remains the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

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

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

"The ones who took to the field this evening are the ones playing almost all the matches."

What Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next Champions League game sees them host Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

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