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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a last-gasp decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's chances of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents came from behind to triumph in their home stadium.

Each club entered this fixture with matching points tallies in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and lost to be on ten points.

For much of the game there was very little to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when the Brazilian converted Reece James' delivery.

But The Serie A side always looked a danger going forwards, with ex- Premier League attacker causing issues for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta raised the intensity and justly levelled when former West Ham United striker headed in a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but they secured the winner in the closing stages when the Chelsea defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a low finish.

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

The result means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two group stage games left to play.

Atalanta, in contrast, leap up to third place, three points ahead of the Blues.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Persists

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

But they lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents seized the moment.

The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with no points after securing the early advantage.

But the wider issue is that this extends Chelsea's concerning streak of form in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five changes for this game as he persisted with his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.

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

Maresca will see rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he stated the central contingent of players remains the unchanged for key fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we did relative to Bournemouth it may be a change but it is the eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

What's Next for These Teams?

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

The Italian team, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Club at the same time.