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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's hopes of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta came from behind to triumph in their home stadium.

Each club entered this match with matching points tallies in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to sit on ten points.

For large parts there was not much to separate them in this contest too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian converted Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta remained a threat going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker creating issues for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but the home team raised the intensity and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but they secured the winner in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a low shot.

The visitors tried to salvage a point in stoppage time but a brilliant stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures left to play.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Sequence Persists

This was a extremely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top-eight finish they require to bypass the uncertainty 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 Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be departing with no points after taking the lead.

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

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

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this game as he continued his policy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here came after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds United and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

Maresca will see rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' workloads and compete both at home and abroad, but he maintained the key nucleus of players remains the same for key fixtures.

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

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

"The players who played tonight are the ones playing almost all the games."

Up Next for These Clubs?

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 Club at the same time.