The Blues' Qualification Hopes Suffer a Setback by Defeat at Bergamo

At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a last-gasp decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta came from behind to claim victory in Bergamo.

Both sides went into this game with the same points tallies in the league phase of this year's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For large parts there was very little to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro turned in the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a threat going forward, with former Charlton and Everton attacker creating issues for the defence.

James shot wide in the after the break but the home team increased the intensity and deservedly equalised when ex-West Ham striker headed in a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but they secured the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who took full advantage with a powerful finish.

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

The result means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two group stage games left to play.

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Continues

This was a extremely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them in a strong position to achieve the top-eight position they require to avoid the lottery of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta seized the moment.

The Italian side are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be departing with nothing after securing the lead.

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

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

Excessive Changes Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this game as he continued his run of rotating players in and out of the first team.

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

Maresca will see rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' minutes and compete both at home and abroad, but he insisted the central contingent of players remains the same for crucial fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we did compared to the previous game it is a change but it involves the same eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The players who played tonight are the individuals who feature in almost all the games."

What's Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, on the other hand, host Athletic Bilbao at the same time.