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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker scores a last-gasp decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the league phase of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were hit hard as Atalanta fought back to win in Bergamo.

Each club entered this match with matching points tallies in the initial stage of this season's competition, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For much of the game there was very little to choose between them in this contest too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro converted Reece James' cross.

But The Serie A side always looked a danger going forwards, with ex- Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the defence.

James fired wide in the after the break but the home team raised the intensity and deservedly drew level when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but they secured the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Blues defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a low finish.

Chelsea tried to salvage a point late on but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage games left to play.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Form Continues

This was a hugely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them in a strong position to achieve 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 seized the moment.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with no points after taking the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this continues Chelsea's concerning run of results in all tournaments.

Since beating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the end of November they are now winless in their last four outings.

Too Many Changes Proving Costly?

Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five rotations for this game as he continued his policy of rotating players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

Maresca will see rotation as necessary as he attempts to manage players' fitness and compete both at domestically and abroad, but he stated the key nucleus of players remains the same for important games.

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

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

"The ones who took to the field tonight are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."

What Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next European game sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.