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Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's chances of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents fought back to win in Bergamo.

The two teams entered this match with the same records in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having won, tied one, and lost to have accrued ten points.

For much of the game there was little to separate them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro turned in the captain's delivery.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a danger going forwards, with former Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta upped the pressure and justly equalised when former West Ham United striker headed in a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but they secured the decisive strike late on when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who took full advantage with a driven finish.

The visitors tried to salvage a draw late on but a superb save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao 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 games remaining.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Continues

This was a hugely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to achieve the top-eight finish they require to avoid the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and their opponents seized the moment.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with no points after securing the early advantage.

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

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

Too Many Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca enacted five alterations for this game as he persisted with his policy of rotating players in and out of the first team.

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 journey to Atalanta.

Maresca will see rotation as essential as he tries to handle players' fitness and compete both at home and in Europe, but he stated the core group of players remains the same for important fixtures.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we made relative to Bournemouth it is a change but it is the eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The players who took to the field this evening are the individuals playing almost all the games."

Up Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next European game sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

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