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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were hit hard as Atalanta came from behind to triumph in their home stadium.

Both sides entered this game with identical points tallies in the league phase of this year's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to sit on 10 points.

For much of the game there was very little to choose between them in this contest too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro converted Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta always looked a danger going forward, with former Premier League attacker creating problems for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta upped the intensity and rightfully equalised when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the decisive strike late on when the Blues defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a driven strike.

The visitors attempted to rescue a point late on but a brilliant save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

The result means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two group stage games remaining.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, jump up to third, three points ahead of the Blues.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Continues

This was a extremely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to secure the top-eight finish they require to avoid the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents seized the moment.

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

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

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

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca enacted five alterations for this match as he continued his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here followed after he implemented 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 rotation as necessary as he tries to handle players' workloads and challenge both at home and abroad, but he maintained the core group of players stays the same for crucial games.

"I think in this match [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham Hotspur, FC Barcelona, and the Gunners," he said.

"If you look at the five alterations that we did compared to the previous game it is a change but it involves the same eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The players who took to the field this evening are the ones who feature in almost all the games."

What's Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.