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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's chances of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta came from behind to win in their home stadium.

Both sides entered this game with identical points tallies in the league phase of this year's tournament, having won, tied one, and lost to have accrued 10 points.

For large parts there was little to choose between them in this encounter too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro converted the captain's delivery.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a threat going forwards, with former Premier League attacker causing problems for the defence.

Reece James shot wide in the second half but Atalanta increased the intensity and rightfully drew level when former West Ham United striker headed in a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they scored the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defence retreated from the midfielder, who took full advantage with a low finish.

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

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two league phase matches left to play.

Atalanta, in contrast, leap up to third, three points ahead of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Run Persists

This was a hugely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them in a strong position to achieve the top-eight finish they require to avoid the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes remaining and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be departing with no points after securing the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this perpetuates Chelsea's concerning streak of results in all competitions.

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

Excessive Rotations Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this game as he continued his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

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

The coach will see squad rotation as essential as he tries to manage players' workloads and compete both at home and in Europe, but he stated the key nucleus of players stays the unchanged for important fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we did relative to Bournemouth it may be a change but it is the same eight or nine players who played in that match.

"The ones who took to the field this evening are the individuals who feature in almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next European game sees them welcome the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

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