🔗 Share this article

Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's chances of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta fought back to claim victory in their home stadium.

Each club went into this game with matching points tallies in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having won, drawn, and lost to have accrued ten points.

For large parts there was very little to distinguish them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian converted Reece James' cross.

But The Serie A side always looked a threat going forward, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker creating problems for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta increased the intensity and deservedly equalised when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta got the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a powerful shot.

Chelsea attempted to salvage a draw late on but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The result means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase fixtures remaining.

Atalanta, in contrast, jump up to third, three points ahead of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Continues

This was a deeply disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to secure the top-eight finish they require to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be departing with no points after taking the early advantage.

But the wider issue is that this extends Chelsea's troubling streak of form in all tournaments.

Since defeating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the close of November they are now without a win in their last four games.

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five changes for this match as he persisted with his policy of moving players in and out of the first team.

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

The coach will view rotation as vital as he tries to manage players' minutes and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the core group of players stays the same for crucial games.

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

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

"The ones who played this evening are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."

What Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, host Athletic Bilbao at the same time.