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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were suffered a setback as Atalanta came from behind to win in Bergamo.

Both sides entered this match with the same points tallies in the league phase of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For much of the game there was little to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a threat going on the attack, with ex- Premier League attacker creating problems for the defence.

James shot wide in the after the break but the home team increased the pressure and deservedly drew level when former West Ham United striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the decisive strike late on when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who took full advantage with a powerful finish.

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

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage matches remaining.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Persists

This was a deeply frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them well placed to achieve the top eight position they need to avoid the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta seized the moment.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be departing with nothing after securing the early advantage.

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

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

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five changes for this game as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

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

Maresca will view rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' workloads and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the central contingent of players remains the unchanged for important fixtures.

"I believe in this match [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, and Arsenal," he stated.

"If you see the five alterations that we did compared to Bournemouth it is different but it involves the same eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The ones who played this evening are the individuals who feature in almost all the games."

What Next for These Clubs?

The Blues' next Champions League fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

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