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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late decisive goal for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were hit hard as their Italian opponents fought back to triumph in Bergamo.

Both sides went into this match with identical records in the league phase of this year's competition, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For much of the game there was very little to distinguish them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian turned in the captain's cross.

But Atalanta consistently appeared a threat going forward, with former Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta raised the pressure and rightfully drew level when former West Ham United striker nodded home a centering pass.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the decisive strike late on when the Blues defence retreated from the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a driven strike.

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

The final score means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage fixtures remaining.

Atalanta, in contrast, climb up to third, three points ahead of the Blues.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Persists

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

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta seized the moment.

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be departing with nothing after taking the lead.

But the bigger picture is that this extends Chelsea's worrying sequence 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.

Too Many Changes Proving Costly?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this match as he continued his run of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

The changes here came after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

Maresca will view rotation as necessary as he attempts to manage players' workloads and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he maintained the central contingent of players stays the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

"I think tonight [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham Hotspur, FC Barcelona, and Arsenal," he commented.

"If you look at the five changes that we made compared to Bournemouth it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The ones who took to the field tonight are the individuals who feature in almost all the games."

What's Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next European fixture sees them welcome Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.