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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late decisive goal for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's chances of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to win in their home stadium.

Both sides went into this match with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this year's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to have accrued ten points.

For extended periods there was very little to separate them in this encounter too, although Chelsea went ahead in the first half when Joao Pedro turned in Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta consistently appeared a threat going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker causing problems for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but the home team increased the pressure and deservedly drew level when ex-West Ham striker headed in a cross.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they secured the winner late on when the Blues defence backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a powerful shot.

The visitors tried to rescue a draw late on but a superb stop by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

The result means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase matches remaining.

Atalanta, in contrast, climb up to third, three points clear of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Persists

This was a deeply disappointing result for Chelsea as even a draw 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 lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with nothing after securing the lead.

But the bigger picture is that this perpetuates Chelsea's concerning run of results in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

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

The changes here followed after he made the same number for the loss to Leeds United and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

Maresca will view rotation as essential as he tries to handle players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the central contingent of players stays the same for important fixtures.

"I believe in this match [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham Hotspur, FC Barcelona, and the Gunners," he stated.

"If you look at the five changes that we made compared to Bournemouth it is different but it involves the eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The ones who played this evening are the individuals playing almost all the games."

What's Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next Champions League fixture sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, host Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.