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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late decisive goal for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to win in Bergamo.

The two teams entered this match with identical points tallies in the league phase of this season's competition, having won, drawn, and lost to sit on 10 points.

For extended periods there was very little to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian finished Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side always looked a danger going forwards, with former Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the second half but Atalanta increased the pressure and rightfully equalised when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they scored the decisive strike late on when the Blues defence backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a driven finish.

The visitors attempted to salvage a draw late on but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the spots that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase matches remaining.

Atalanta, meanwhile, leap up to third place, three points ahead of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Persists

This was a extremely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them well placed to achieve the top-eight position they need 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 Italians are in good form 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 securing the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this extends Chelsea's worrying streak of form in all tournaments.

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

Excessive Rotations Proving Costly?

Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five changes for this game as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the first team.

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

The coach will see squad rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the core group of players stays the unchanged for key fixtures.

"I believe tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, Barcelona, and the Gunners," he commented.

"If you look at the five alterations that we did relative to Bournemouth it is different but it is the eight or nine players playing in that match.

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

Up Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next European fixture sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.