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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a last-gasp decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents fought back to win in their home stadium.

Each club entered this fixture with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this year's competition, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For large parts there was little to choose between them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro turned in the captain's delivery.

But Atalanta remained a threat going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker creating problems for the defence.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team increased the pressure and rightfully equalised when former West Ham United striker headed in a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the keeper but they secured the winning goal late on when the Chelsea defenders backed off the midfielder, who made no mistake with a low shot.

The visitors tried to salvage a draw in stoppage time but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

The result means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase games remaining.

Atalanta, meanwhile, leap up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Persists

This was a extremely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to secure the top-eight position they need to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta took full advantage.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with nothing after securing the lead.

But the broader context is that this extends Chelsea's troubling streak of form 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 games.

Excessive Rotations Proving Costly?

Manager Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this game as he persisted with his policy of moving players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here came after he implemented the same number for the defeat to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

The coach will see squad rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' fitness and compete both at home and abroad, but he maintained the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for important fixtures.

"I believe in this match [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, Barcelona, and Arsenal," he said.

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

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

What's Next for These Teams?

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

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Club at the same time.