🔗 Share this article

Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockouts.

Chelsea's chances of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta fought back to claim victory in their home stadium.

The two teams went into this match with identical records in the league phase of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to sit on 10 points.

For much of the game there was little to separate them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the first half when the Brazilian finished the captain's cross.

But Atalanta remained a threat going forwards, with ex- Premier League attacker creating problems for the backline.

James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta upped the intensity and deservedly equalised when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a centering pass.

The winger drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta scored the winning goal late on when the Blues defence retreated from the midfielder, who took full advantage with a powerful strike.

Chelsea attempted to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a brilliant stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two league phase matches remaining.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, jump up to third place, three points clear of the Blues.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Run Continues

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

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

The Italian side are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be departing with no points after securing the lead.

But the broader context is that this perpetuates Chelsea's troubling run of results in all competitions.

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

Too Many Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

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

The rotations here came after he implemented the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

Maresca will view squad rotation as necessary as he tries to handle players' fitness and compete both at home and abroad, but he insisted the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

"I think tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, FC Barcelona, and Arsenal," he stated.

"If you see the five changes that we did compared to Bournemouth it is different but it involves the same eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

What's Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next European game sees them host Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

The Italian team, meanwhile, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.