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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives 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 grabs a late winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's hopes of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta overturned a deficit to triumph in Bergamo.

The two teams entered this match with matching records in the league phase of this year's competition, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to sit on 10 points.

For large parts there was very little to separate them in this contest too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro finished the captain's cross.

But Atalanta remained a danger going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the backline.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta raised the intensity and justly levelled when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a centering pass.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta scored the decisive strike late on when the Chelsea defence backed off the midfielder, who took full advantage with a powerful strike.

The visitors attempted to rescue a draw late on but a brilliant save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures remaining.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Persists

This was a hugely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top eight finish they require to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes remaining and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with no points after taking the lead.

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

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

Too Many Changes Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

The rotations here followed after he implemented the same number for the loss 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' fitness and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the central contingent of players stays the same for crucial fixtures.

"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 see the five changes that we did relative to Bournemouth it is different but it involves the eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

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

Up Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next Champions League fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.