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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a late winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to claim victory in Bergamo.

Each club went into this game with matching records in the initial stage of this year's competition, having won, drawn, and lost to be on 10 points.

For much of the game there was not much to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when the Brazilian converted the captain's delivery.

But Atalanta remained a danger going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta increased the intensity and justly drew level when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the winner in the closing stages when the Blues defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a low finish.

The visitors attempted to salvage a point late on but a excellent stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao 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 games left to play.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, climb up to third, three points clear of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Continues

This was a extremely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to achieve the top-eight position they need to avoid the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

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

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

But the wider issue is that this continues Chelsea's concerning streak of form in all competitions.

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

Excessive Rotations Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this game as he continued his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

The rotations here followed after he made the identical amount for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will view squad rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' minutes and compete both at domestically and abroad, but he insisted the core group of players stays the same for crucial fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we made relative to Bournemouth it is a change but it involves the same eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

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

What Next for These Teams?

The Blues' next Champions League game sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.