The Blues' Automatic Qualification Ambitions Hit by Reverse at Atalanta

At a Glance

• Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
• Atalanta the better side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a last-gasp winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to 11th in the league phase of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

The London club's hopes of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta fought back to win in their home stadium.

Each club entered this match with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to sit on 10 points.

For extended periods there was little to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro finished the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side remained a threat going forward, with former Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the defence.

James shot wide in the second half but the home team increased the pressure and deservedly drew level when former West Ham United striker headed in a centering pass.

The winger drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they got the winning goal late on when the Blues defence retreated from the midfielder, who made no mistake with a driven finish.

The visitors tried to salvage a point late on but a superb save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase games left to play.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Run Continues

This was a deeply disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top-eight position they need to bypass 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 took full advantage.

The Italians are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging test for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be departing with no points after taking the lead.

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

Since beating Barcelona 3-0 at the end of November they are now winless in their last four matches.

Excessive Rotations Proving Expensive?

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five changes for this game as he continued his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here came after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds United and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.

The coach will view rotation as essential as he attempts to manage players' workloads and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he stated the key nucleus of players remains the unchanged for key fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five changes that we made compared to the previous game it may be different but it is the eight or nine players playing in that match.

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

Up Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next European game sees them welcome Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.