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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were hit hard as their Italian opponents fought back to claim victory in Bergamo.

Both sides entered this game with identical records in the initial stage of this year's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to have accrued ten points.

For much of the game there was little to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in Reece James' delivery.

But Atalanta consistently appeared a danger going forward, with former Premier League attacker causing issues for the backline.

James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta increased the pressure and justly drew level when former West Ham United striker nodded home a cross.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the winner late on when the Blues defence retreated from the midfielder, who took full advantage with a driven shot.

The visitors tried to salvage a point in stoppage time but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures remaining.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, leap up to third, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Persists

This was a deeply frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them in a strong position to secure the top-eight position they need to bypass the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and their opponents took full advantage.

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with no points after taking the lead.

But the bigger picture is that this extends Chelsea's concerning sequence of form in all competitions.

Since defeating Barcelona 3-0 at the end of November they are now winless in their last four games.

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this match as he continued his strategy of moving players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here came after he made the identical amount for the loss to Leeds United and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

The coach will view rotation as essential as he tries to manage players' fitness and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the core group of players stays the unchanged for crucial games.

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

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

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

What's Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next European game sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.