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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a late winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's hopes of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were hit hard as their Italian opponents came from behind to triumph in their home stadium.

Each club entered this game with the same records in the league phase of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to have accrued ten points.

For much of the game there was little to distinguish them in this encounter too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta always looked a threat going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the defence.

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 centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but they got the winning goal in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a driven strike.

Chelsea attempted to rescue a point in stoppage time but a superb stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase games left to play.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, leap up to third, three points clear of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Form Continues

This was a hugely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to secure the top eight finish they require to avoid the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be departing with nothing after taking the lead.

But the bigger picture is that this perpetuates Chelsea's worrying run of form 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 Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this game as he continued his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

The rotations here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

Maresca will view rotation as necessary as he attempts to manage players' fitness and compete both at home and in Europe, but he stated the core group of players stays the unchanged for crucial games.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we made relative to the previous game it may be a change but it involves the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

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

What's Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next European fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, host Athletic Bilbao at the same time.