🔗 Share this article

Match Summary

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and draw level through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late winner for the home side.
• The defeat means Chelsea slide to 11th in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's ambitions of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents fought back to win in their home stadium.

Each club entered this fixture with matching records in the league phase of this year's competition, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to be on 10 points.

For much of the game there was not much to distinguish them in this encounter too, although Chelsea went ahead in the first half when the Brazilian turned in the captain's delivery.

But The Serie A side consistently appeared a threat going on the attack, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing problems for the backline.

James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta upped the pressure and deservedly drew level when former West Ham United striker headed in a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the winner late on when the Blues defence backed off the midfielder, who made no mistake with a driven strike.

Chelsea tried to salvage a point late on but a excellent stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the spots that qualify automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage games left to play.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Sequence Continues

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

But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta took full advantage.

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 departing with nothing after taking the lead.

But the wider issue is that this continues Chelsea's worrying run of form in all tournaments.

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

Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?

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

The rotations here came after he implemented the same number for the defeat to Leeds and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

Maresca will view rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he stated the central contingent of players remains the unchanged for important fixtures.

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

"If you see the five changes that we did compared to Bournemouth it is different but it is the eight or nine players who played in that match.

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

Up Next for These Teams?

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

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