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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker nets a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were hit hard as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to claim victory in Bergamo.

Both sides entered this fixture with identical points tallies in the league phase of this year's tournament, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to sit on 10 points.

For extended periods there was very little to separate them in this encounter too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when Joao Pedro finished the captain's delivery.

But Atalanta consistently appeared a danger going forwards, with former Premier League attacker creating problems for the backline.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team raised the pressure and rightfully drew level when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they got the decisive strike late on when the Chelsea defence backed off the midfielder, who took full advantage with a powerful finish.

Chelsea tried to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a superb save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage matches remaining.

Atalanta, in contrast, jump up to third, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Run Continues

This was a extremely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top-eight finish they require to avoid the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta took full advantage.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be departing with nothing after taking the early advantage.

But the broader context is that this continues Chelsea's troubling streak of results in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this game as he persisted with his run of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

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

The coach will view squad rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' workloads and challenge both at home and abroad, but he maintained the central contingent of players stays the unchanged for key fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we made relative to Bournemouth it may be a change but it involves the eight or nine players playing in that match.

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

What Next for These Teams?

Chelsea's next European game sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.