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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's hopes of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were suffered a setback as Atalanta fought back to triumph in their home stadium.

Each club entered this match with matching records in the league phase of this season's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to be on 10 points.

For extended periods there was very little to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro converted the captain's cross.

But Atalanta consistently appeared a danger going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker creating issues for the defence.

James shot wide in the after the break but the home team increased the pressure and deservedly equalised when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

The winger drove a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they got the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a powerful finish.

The visitors attempted to salvage a point late on but a superb stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The result means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two group stage fixtures remaining.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, climb up to third place, three points ahead of the Blues.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Continues

This was a extremely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to achieve the top-eight position they require to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes remaining and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with no points after securing the lead.

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

Since beating Barcelona 3-0 at the close of November they are now without a win in their last four matches.

Excessive Changes Proving Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five rotations for this match as he continued his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

The rotations here came after he implemented the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

Maresca will view squad rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' minutes and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the key nucleus of players remains the same for crucial games.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we did relative to the previous game it is different but it involves the eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

What's Next for These Clubs?

The Blues' next European game sees them welcome Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, host Athletic Club at the same time.