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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late winner for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents fought back to win in Bergamo.

Each club went into this fixture with the same records in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to sit on ten points.

For much of the game there was very little to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian converted Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side always looked a danger going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the second half but the home team increased the intensity and rightfully drew level when former West Ham United striker nodded home a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the decisive strike late on when the Blues defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a low shot.

Chelsea tried to rescue a draw late on but a excellent stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase matches left to play.

Atalanta, in contrast, climb up to third, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Continues

This was a hugely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them in a strong position to achieve the top eight finish they need to bypass the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and their opponents seized the moment.

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 leaving with nothing after securing the lead.

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

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

Excessive Changes Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five rotations for this match as he continued his policy of rotating players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will see squad rotation as essential as he tries to handle players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the central contingent of players stays the same for important games.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we did compared to the previous game it may be a change but it involves the eight or nine players playing in that match.

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

What's Next for These Teams?

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

The Italian team, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.