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Key Moments

• The Chelsea forward hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere nets a late decisive goal for the hosts.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockout phase.

The London club's hopes of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents came from behind to win in their home stadium.

Both sides entered this game with identical records in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having won, drawn, and lost to have accrued ten points.

For extended periods there was very little to separate them in this contest too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side remained a danger going forward, with former Premier League attacker creating problems for the backline.

James fired wide in the after the break but Atalanta upped the pressure and justly equalised when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta got the decisive strike late on when the Blues defenders retreated from the midfielder, who took full advantage with a driven shot.

The visitors tried to salvage a point late on but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage matches remaining.

The Bergamo club, meanwhile, climb up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Sequence Persists

This was a hugely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to achieve the top eight finish they need to bypass the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

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

The Italian side are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the visitors, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with no points after taking the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's concerning sequence of results in all competitions.

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

Too Many Rotations Proving Expensive?

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

The changes here followed after he implemented the same number for the defeat to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.

The coach will see squad rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he insisted the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for key fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we made relative to the previous game it may be a change but it is the eight or nine players who played in that match.

"The players who played tonight are the individuals playing almost all the matches."

What Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Club at the same time.