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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were hit hard as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to win in Bergamo.

The two teams went into this match with the same records in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For large parts there was little to choose between them in this encounter too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when the Brazilian turned in the captain's cross.

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

James fired wide in the second half but the home team raised the intensity and rightfully equalised when ex-West Ham striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they got the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence retreated from the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a powerful strike.

The visitors tried to rescue a point in stoppage time but a brilliant save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase matches left to play.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Run Continues

This was a extremely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them in a strong position to secure the top-eight position they require to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta seized the moment.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with no points after securing the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's troubling run of form in all tournaments.

Since beating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the end of November they are now without a win in their last four matches.

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five alterations for this game as he persisted with his policy of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

The changes here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will see rotation as vital as he attempts to handle players' fitness and compete both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the key nucleus of players remains the same for key games.

"I believe tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham, FC Barcelona, and the Gunners," he stated.

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

"The ones who took to the field 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 (8pm GMT).

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