🔗 Share this article

At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp decisive goal for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's chances of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta came from behind to win in Bergamo.

Both sides entered this game with identical points tallies in the league phase of this year's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to sit on 10 points.

For extended periods there was very little to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro finished Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a danger going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but Atalanta raised the pressure and justly drew level when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the winning goal late on when the Chelsea defenders retreated from the midfielder, who made no mistake with a low shot.

Chelsea attempted to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

The result means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase matches left to play.

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Form Continues

This was a hugely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to secure the top-eight position they require to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes remaining and their opponents took full advantage.

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

But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's worrying sequence of results 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 Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this match as he persisted with his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

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

Maresca will see rotation as necessary as he tries to handle players' workloads and compete both at home and in Europe, but he stated the key nucleus of players stays the unchanged for key fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we made relative to the previous game it is different but it involves the eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

What Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next Champions League game sees them host Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, host Athletic Bilbao at the same time.