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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker scores a last-gasp decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the league phase of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea'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.

Each club entered this game with the same records in the league phase of this year's tournament, having won, drawn, and lost to sit on 10 points.

For large parts there was little to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian converted Reece James' cross.

But Atalanta remained a danger going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing problems for the backline.

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

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the decisive strike late on when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a driven finish.

Chelsea tried to salvage a point in stoppage time but a superb stop by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase games left to play.

Atalanta, meanwhile, leap up to third place, three points clear of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Continues

This was a hugely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to achieve the top-eight finish they need to avoid the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta capitalised completely.

The Italians 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 disappointed to be leaving with no points after taking the lead.

But the bigger picture is that this extends Chelsea's concerning sequence of results in all competitions.

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

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Costly?

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

The rotations here came after he implemented the same number for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

The coach will view rotation as necessary as he attempts to manage players' fitness and compete both at home and abroad, but he maintained the key nucleus of players remains the same for key games.

"I think tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham Hotspur, FC Barcelona, and the Gunners," he stated.

"If you look at the five alterations that we made compared to the previous game it may be different but it is the same eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

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

What's Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next European fixture sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.