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Match Summary

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker scores a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta fought back to win in Bergamo.

The two teams went into this match with identical points tallies in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to be on 10 points.

For large parts there was little to separate them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a threat going on the attack, with former Charlton and Everton attacker creating issues for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but the home team increased the intensity and rightfully equalised when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta scored the winner in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a driven finish.

Chelsea attempted to rescue a point late on but a excellent stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two league phase fixtures left to play.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Continues

This was a extremely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top eight position they need to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

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

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with nothing after taking the lead.

But the broader context is that this perpetuates Chelsea's concerning streak of form in all competitions.

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

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five alterations for this match as he persisted with his run of moving players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here came after he implemented the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will see rotation as necessary as he tries to manage players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he insisted the central contingent of players stays the unchanged for crucial games.

"I think in this match [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, FC Barcelona, and Arsenal," he commented.

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

"The players who played this evening are the individuals playing almost all the games."

What's Next for These Sides?

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

The Italian team, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.