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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta fought back to win in their home stadium.

Each club entered this game with identical records in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to sit on ten points.

For much of the game there was very little to distinguish them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side remained a threat going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the backline.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but the home team upped the pressure and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but they got the decisive strike late on when the Blues defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a driven finish.

The visitors attempted to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a superb save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The result means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage matches left to play.

Atalanta, in contrast, climb up to third, three points clear of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Continues

This was a deeply frustrating result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top eight position they need to bypass the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents capitalised completely.

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

But the broader context is that this perpetuates Chelsea's worrying sequence of form in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

The changes here came after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will view squad rotation as vital as he tries to manage players' minutes and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he maintained the key nucleus of players stays the same for key fixtures.

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

"If you see the five changes that we made compared to the previous game it is different but it involves the same eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The ones who took to the field this evening are the ones playing almost all the matches."

What Next for These Teams?

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

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