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Key Moments

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a late winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the league phase of the tournament.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's chances of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to win in Bergamo.

Each club went into this game with matching records in the initial stage of this year's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to have accrued ten points.

For much of the game there was little to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when the Brazilian finished 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 backline.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team upped the pressure and deservedly levelled when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the winning goal late on when the Chelsea defence backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a low strike.

Chelsea tried to rescue a point late on but a brilliant save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two league phase games remaining.

Atalanta, meanwhile, leap up to third place, three points clear of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Run Continues

This was a deeply disappointing result for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them in a strong position to achieve the top-eight finish they need to avoid the lottery of the play-offs.

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta took full advantage.

The Italian side are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be departing with no points after securing the lead.

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

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

Too Many Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five changes for this game as he continued his run of moving players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here followed after he implemented the same number for the defeat to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will view rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the core group of players remains the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

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

"If you see the five changes that we made relative to Bournemouth it is different but it is the same eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

What Next for These Sides?

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

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