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At a Glance

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were hit hard as their Italian opponents fought back to triumph in their home stadium.

Both sides went into this match with matching records in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For extended periods there was little to choose between them in this encounter too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished the captain's delivery.

But The Serie A side remained a danger going forwards, with former Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the backline.

James shot wide in the after the break but the home team raised the intensity and deservedly levelled when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they got the decisive strike 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 late on but a brilliant save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Pedro.

The result means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage fixtures remaining.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Form Continues

This was a hugely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them well placed to achieve the top eight finish they require 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 their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with no points after taking the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this extends Chelsea's troubling sequence of results in all competitions.

Since beating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the close of November they are now without a win in their last four outings.

Excessive Rotations Proving Expensive?

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

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

The coach will view rotation as vital as he attempts to handle players' minutes and compete both at home and abroad, but he maintained the core group of players stays 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 Arsenal," he commented.

"If you see the five changes that we made compared to Bournemouth it may be a change but it is the same eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

What Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next European fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Club at the same time.