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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's chances of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were hit hard as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to claim victory in Bergamo.

The two teams entered this game with matching points tallies in the initial stage of this season's competition, having won, drawn, and lost to sit on 10 points.

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

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a threat going forward, with ex- Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the defence.

James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta raised the pressure and deservedly drew level when former West Ham United striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger drove a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they got the winning goal in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a low shot.

Chelsea tried to rescue a point late on but a brilliant save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two league phase matches left to play.

Atalanta, meanwhile, jump up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Continues

This was a extremely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them well placed to secure the top eight finish they require to avoid the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lacked concentration 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 challenging test for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be departing with nothing after taking the lead.

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

Since defeating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the close of November they are now winless in their last four matches.

Excessive Rotations Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five changes for this game as he persisted with his run of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here came after he made the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

The coach will view squad rotation as necessary as he tries to manage players' fitness and compete both at domestically and abroad, but he maintained the core group of players remains the same for important fixtures.

"I believe tonight [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, Barcelona, and the Gunners," he stated.

"If you look at the five changes that we made compared to the previous game it is different but it involves the eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The players who took to the field this evening are the ones playing almost all the matches."

Up Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next Champions League game sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

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