Chelsea's Qualification Hopes Hit by Loss at Bergamo

Match Summary

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a last-gasp decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's chances of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were hit hard as their Italian opponents came from behind to win in their home stadium.

Each club went into this game with matching points tallies in the initial stage of this season's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to be on 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 turned in the captain's cross.

But Atalanta always looked a danger going forward, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the backline.

Reece James fired wide in the second half but the home team raised the intensity and justly equalised when former West Ham United striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta scored the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Blues defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a driven shot.

The visitors tried to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a superb stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage games remaining.

Atalanta, in contrast, jump up to third, three points clear of the Blues.

Blues Breakdown - Worrying Form Continues

This was a hugely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to achieve the top-eight position they need to avoid the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

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

The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with nothing after securing the lead.

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

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

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five changes for this match as he persisted with his run of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

The rotations here followed after he made the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

The coach will see rotation as vital as he tries to manage players' workloads and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he insisted the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we did compared to Bournemouth it is a change 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 games."

What's Next for These Teams?

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

The Italian team, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.