The Blues' Qualification Hopes Hit by Reverse at Bergamo

Key Moments

• 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.
• The Belgian attacker scores a late winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea fall to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's hopes of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were suffered a setback as Atalanta overturned a deficit to win in their home stadium.

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

For large parts there was very little to separate them in this encounter too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian turned in the captain's delivery.

But Atalanta always looked a danger going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker creating issues for the defence.

James fired wide in the second half but Atalanta raised the intensity and justly equalised when former West Ham United striker nodded home a cross.

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

Chelsea tried to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a superb save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.

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

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, climb up to third place, three points ahead of the Blues.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Sequence Continues

This was a hugely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them well placed to achieve the top-eight finish they require to avoid the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be departing with nothing after securing the early advantage.

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

Since defeating Barcelona 3-0 at the end of November they are now without a win in their last four matches.

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this game as he continued his policy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

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

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

"If you see the five alterations that we made compared to Bournemouth it may be different but it is the eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

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

What's Next for These Teams?

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

The Italian team, meanwhile, host Athletic Club at the same time.