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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker scores a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to eleventh place 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 knockouts were suffered a setback as Atalanta came from behind to claim victory in their home stadium.

Both sides went into this game with matching records in the league phase of this season's tournament, having won, tied one, and lost to be on 10 points.

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

But The Serie A side remained a threat going on the attack, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the defence.

James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta raised the intensity and rightfully levelled when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta got the decisive strike late on when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who made no mistake with a low strike.

Chelsea tried to salvage a draw late on but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures left to play.

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

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Form Persists

This was a deeply disappointing result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to achieve the top-eight finish they require to avoid the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes remaining and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with nothing after securing the lead.

But the wider issue is that this extends Chelsea's troubling run of results in all competitions.

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

Too Many Changes Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Maresca enacted five rotations for this game as he persisted with his run of rotating players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here came after he implemented the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

Maresca will see rotation as necessary as he attempts to handle players' minutes and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the key nucleus of players stays the same for important fixtures.

"I think in this match [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham, FC Barcelona, and the Gunners," he said.

"If you see the five changes that we made relative to the previous game it may be a change but it is the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The ones who took to the field this evening are the ones who feature in almost all the games."

What Next for These Clubs?

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

Atalanta, meanwhile, host Athletic Club at the same time.