The Blues' Qualification Hopes Suffer a Setback by Loss at Atalanta

Match Summary

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's hopes of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta came from behind to claim victory in their home stadium.

The two teams entered this fixture with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this year's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to sit on 10 points.

For large parts there was little to choose between them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian finished the captain's delivery.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a danger going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the backline.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team increased the pressure and rightfully levelled when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they got the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a driven strike.

The visitors tried to salvage a draw in stoppage time but a superb stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

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

The Bergamo club, in contrast, jump up to third place, three points clear of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Persists

This was a deeply disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them well placed to achieve the top eight finish they require to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents took full advantage.

The Italian side are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be departing with no points after taking the lead.

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

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

Excessive Changes Proving Costly?

Chelsea boss 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 made the same number for the defeat to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

The coach will see squad rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' workloads and compete both at home and in Europe, but he stated the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for key games.

"I believe in this match [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, FC Barcelona, and the Gunners," he commented.

"If you see the five alterations that we did relative to Bournemouth it may be a change but it involves the same eight or nine players playing in that match.

"The ones who took to the field tonight are the individuals playing almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Teams?

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

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