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At a Glance

• The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the last 16.

The London club's chances of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents came from behind to triumph in Bergamo.

Each club went into this fixture with the same records in the league phase of this season's competition, having won, tied one, and lost to sit on ten points.

For much of the game there was very little to distinguish them in this encounter too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian finished the captain's cross.

But Atalanta always looked a danger going forward, with ex- Premier League attacker creating issues for the backline.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team increased the intensity and justly levelled when ex-West Ham striker headed in a cross.

The winger hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta got the winner late on when the Chelsea defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a driven finish.

Chelsea tried to salvage a draw late on but a brilliant save by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the spots that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase fixtures remaining.

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

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Form Persists

This was a extremely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to achieve the top eight finish they need to bypass the lottery of the play-offs.

But they let their concentration slip 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 examination for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with nothing after taking the lead.

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

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

Excessive Rotations Proving Costly?

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

The rotations here came after he made the identical amount for the loss to Leeds United and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will view squad rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' minutes and compete both at home and abroad, but he stated the key nucleus of players stays the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

"I think tonight [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, and the Gunners," he commented.

"If you see the five alterations that we did compared to the previous game it is different but it involves the same eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The players who played tonight are the individuals who feature in almost all the games."

What Next for These Sides?

Chelsea's next European fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.