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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp decisive goal for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents fought back to triumph in their home stadium.

The two teams entered this game with the same points tallies in the league phase of this year's competition, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to sit on ten points.

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

But Atalanta remained a danger going on the attack, with ex- Premier League attacker creating problems for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but the home team raised the pressure and rightfully equalised when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the winner in the closing stages when the Blues defence retreated from the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a powerful finish.

Chelsea attempted to salvage a draw late on but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage fixtures left to play.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Sequence Persists

This was a deeply frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to secure the top-eight position they need to avoid 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 Atalanta took full advantage.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be departing with nothing after taking the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's concerning sequence of form in all tournaments.

Since defeating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the end of November they are now without a win in their last four outings.

Too Many Changes Proving Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five changes 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 identical amount for the loss to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

Maresca will see rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' workloads and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the core group of players stays the same for important games.

"I think tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham Hotspur, FC Barcelona, and the Gunners," he said.

"If you look at the five alterations that we made relative to the previous game it is a change but it is the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The ones who played tonight are the individuals playing almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Clubs?

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

Atalanta, meanwhile, host Athletic Bilbao at the same time.