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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late decisive goal for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to 11th in the league phase 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 Atalanta came from behind to claim victory in their home stadium.

Each club entered this match with matching records in the league phase of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to sit on ten points.

For much of the game there was not much to distinguish them in this contest too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian turned in Reece James' cross.

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

Reece James fired wide in the second half but the home team increased the intensity and justly levelled when ex-West Ham striker headed in a cross.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but they secured the winning goal late on when the Blues defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a driven finish.

The visitors attempted to rescue a draw late on but a brilliant save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase fixtures left to play.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, jump up to third, three points clear of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Sequence Persists

This was a extremely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them in a strong position to achieve the top eight position they need to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta seized the moment.

The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be departing with no points after taking the early advantage.

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

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

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this match as he persisted with his run of rotating players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here followed after he made the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

Maresca will view squad rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' minutes and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the central contingent of players remains the same for crucial games.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we did compared to Bournemouth it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

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

Up Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

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