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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a late winner for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to eleventh place 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 Champions League knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta overturned a deficit to win in Bergamo.

Both sides went into this fixture with matching records in the league phase of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For large parts there was very little to choose between them in this encounter too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when Joao Pedro finished Reece James' delivery.

But Atalanta remained a threat going forwards, with former Premier League attacker creating issues for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but the home team upped the pressure and deservedly equalised when former West Ham United striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta got the winning goal late on when the Chelsea defenders backed off 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 outcome means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage games left to play.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Continues

This was a deeply frustrating result for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them well placed to achieve the top-eight finish they need to avoid the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents took full advantage.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be departing with nothing after securing the early advantage.

But the wider issue is that this perpetuates Chelsea's concerning streak of form in all competitions.

Since beating Barcelona 3-0 at the close of November they are now winless in their last four outings.

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this game as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

The changes here followed after he implemented the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will see rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' minutes and challenge both at home and abroad, but he maintained the core group of players stays the same for key games.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we made relative to Bournemouth it may be different but it is the same eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

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

What's Next for These Clubs?

The Blues' next Champions League fixture sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

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