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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker nets a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to eleventh place in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockout phase.

Chelsea's chances of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta fought back to claim victory in their home stadium.

Both sides went into this fixture with the same records in the league phase of this year's tournament, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For large parts there was very little to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro converted the captain's delivery.

But The Serie A side remained a danger going forwards, with ex- Premier League attacker causing problems for the backline.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team raised the pressure and deservedly equalised when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they scored the decisive strike late on when the Chelsea defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a powerful strike.

The visitors tried to salvage a point late on but a brilliant save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage games remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Run Persists

This was a extremely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to achieve the top-eight finish they require to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and their opponents capitalised completely.

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

But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's troubling streak of form in all competitions.

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

Excessive Changes Proving Costly?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this game as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the first team.

The changes here followed after he made the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.

Maresca will view rotation as necessary as he attempts to manage players' fitness and compete both at domestically and abroad, but he maintained the core group of players remains the unchanged for crucial games.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we made relative to the previous game it is different but it is the eight or nine players playing Barcelona.

"The ones who took to the field tonight are the individuals who feature in almost all the games."

What's Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next European game sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.