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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a last-gasp winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's chances of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta fought back to claim victory in Bergamo.

The two teams went into this match with identical points tallies in the initial stage of this year's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to sit on 10 points.

For much of the game there was not much to choose between them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian turned in Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side remained a threat going forward, with former Charlton and Everton attacker causing problems for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but the home team upped the intensity and deservedly drew level when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but they scored the winner in the closing stages when the Blues defenders retreated from the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a powerful finish.

Chelsea tried to rescue a draw late on but a brilliant stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase matches left to play.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Sequence Continues

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

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta took full advantage.

The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be departing with no points after taking the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this extends Chelsea's troubling streak of form in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Rotations Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca enacted five alterations for this match as he persisted with his run of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

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

The coach will see squad rotation as vital as he attempts to handle players' fitness and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for key fixtures.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we made relative to the previous game it may be different but it involves the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The players who took to the field this evening are the individuals playing almost all the games."

What's Next for These Clubs?

The Blues' next European fixture sees them host Pafos on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.