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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's hopes of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta came from behind to claim victory in their home stadium.

Each club went into this match with matching records in the league phase of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to be on 10 points.

For extended periods there was not much to choose between them in this encounter 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 forward, with former Premier League attacker creating issues for the defence.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team upped the intensity and deservedly levelled when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta secured the winner in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence retreated from the midfielder, who took full advantage with a powerful shot.

Chelsea attempted to rescue a point late on but a excellent stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The result means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the positions that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage fixtures remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Continues

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

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with no points after taking the early advantage.

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

Since defeating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the end of November they are now winless in their last four games.

Too Many Rotations Proving Costly?

Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five rotations for this match as he continued his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

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

The coach will view squad rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' workloads and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he stated the key nucleus of players stays the same for important games.

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

"If you look at 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 in that match.

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

What's Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them host Pafos on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Club at the same time.