Chelsea's Hopes Suffer a Setback by Loss at Atalanta

At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• The Italian outfit the better side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere grabs a late decisive goal for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta overturned a deficit to win in their home stadium.

The two teams went into this game with identical records in the league phase of this season's competition, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to sit on 10 points.

For large parts there was little to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro converted the captain's cross.

But Atalanta always looked a threat going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the backline.

James fired wide in the second half but Atalanta upped the intensity and rightfully drew level when former West Ham United striker nodded home a cross.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but they scored the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Blues defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a low strike.

The visitors attempted to salvage a point in stoppage time but a brilliant stop by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Pedro.

The result means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage fixtures left to play.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, jump up to third, three points clear of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Form Persists

This was a extremely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to secure the top-eight position they require to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes remaining and their opponents capitalised completely.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough test for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with no points after securing the early advantage.

But the wider issue is that this continues Chelsea's concerning streak 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 outings.

Excessive Rotations Proving Costly?

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

The changes here came after he made the same number for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will see squad rotation as necessary as he tries to handle players' minutes and compete both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the central contingent of players remains the same for crucial games.

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

"If you see the five changes that we made relative to the previous game it may be different but it is the eight or nine players who played in that match.

"The players who played this evening are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."

What's Next for These Clubs?

The Blues' next Champions League game sees them host Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, host Athletic Bilbao at the same time.