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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker scores a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's chances of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents fought back to win in Bergamo.

Each club entered this game with identical records in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having won, tied one, and lost to have accrued ten points.

For much of the game there was little to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in Reece James' delivery.

But Atalanta always looked a threat going forward, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but the home team increased the pressure and rightfully levelled when former West Ham United striker nodded home a cross.

The winger drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Blues defenders retreated from the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a driven strike.

Chelsea attempted to salvage a point in stoppage time but a brilliant save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two group stage games remaining.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Form Persists

This was a hugely disappointing result 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 let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta capitalised completely.

The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with nothing after taking the lead.

But the bigger picture is that this perpetuates Chelsea's worrying streak 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.

Too Many Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five alterations for this game as he continued his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here followed after he made the same number for the defeat to Leeds and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

Maresca will view rotation as necessary as he attempts to handle players' workloads and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he stated the central contingent of players remains the same for crucial games.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we did compared to the previous game it may be different but it involves the same eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The players who played tonight are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Sides?

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

Atalanta, meanwhile, host Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.