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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were suffered a setback as Atalanta fought back to triumph in their home stadium.

Each club entered this match with identical points tallies in the initial stage of this year's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to be on ten points.

For much of the game there was not much to separate them in this encounter too, although Chelsea went ahead in the first half when the Brazilian turned in the captain's cross.

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

Reece James shot wide in the second half but the home team upped the intensity and deservedly levelled when former West Ham United striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence retreated from the midfielder, who took full advantage with a low strike.

Chelsea attempted to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase games remaining.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Sequence Continues

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

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents took full advantage.

The Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be departing with no points after taking the lead.

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

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

Too Many Changes Proving Expensive?

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

The rotations here came after he made the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

The coach will view squad rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he maintained the central contingent of players stays the same for key fixtures.

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

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

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

What's Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next European fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, host Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.