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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents came from behind to win in Bergamo.

Each club went into this game with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this season's competition, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to sit on 10 points.

For much of the game there was very little to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian turned in Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a threat going forward, with ex- Premier League attacker creating problems for the defence.

James shot wide in the after the break but the home team upped the pressure and rightfully levelled when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a centering pass.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the winner in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a low finish.

Chelsea attempted to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage games remaining.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, jump up to third place, three points clear of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Sequence Continues

This was a deeply frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position 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 remaining and Atalanta took full advantage.

The Italian side are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with nothing after securing the early advantage.

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

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

Too Many Changes Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this match as he continued his run of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

The changes here came after he implemented the same number for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

The coach will see rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' workloads and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he maintained the core group of players stays the same for crucial fixtures.

"I believe in this match [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham, FC Barcelona, and Arsenal," he commented.

"If you look at the five changes that we made compared to the previous game it may be different but it is the eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The players who took to the field this evening are the ones playing almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Teams?

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

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