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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• 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 Atalanta fought back to claim victory in their home stadium.

The two teams entered this fixture with matching records in the initial stage of this year's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to sit on 10 points.

For extended periods there was little to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian converted the captain's cross.

But Atalanta remained a threat going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker causing problems for the defence.

James shot wide in the after the break but the home team raised the pressure and justly equalised when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but they got the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a powerful shot.

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

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage games remaining.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Sequence Persists

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

But they lacked concentration in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents took full advantage.

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

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

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

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca enacted five rotations for this game as he continued his policy of moving players in and out of the first team.

The changes here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds United and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will view rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' workloads and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he stated the key nucleus of players remains the same for important games.

"I believe 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 look at the five changes that we did relative to Bournemouth it is different but it involves the eight or nine players playing in that match.

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

What Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next European game sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

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