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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta fought back to claim victory in their home stadium.

Both sides entered this fixture with the same records in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to be on 10 points.

For large parts there was not much to distinguish them in this contest too, although Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro converted the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a danger going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the backline.

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

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a low shot.

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

The result means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures remaining.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, leap up to third place, three points clear of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Continues

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

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

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be departing with nothing after taking the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this extends Chelsea's worrying sequence of results in all competitions.

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

Excessive Changes Proving Costly?

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

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

The coach will see squad rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he insisted the key nucleus of players remains the same for important fixtures.

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

"If you see the five alterations that we made compared to Bournemouth it may be a change but it involves the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The ones who played tonight are the individuals playing almost all the games."

What Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next European game sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.