Key Moments
- The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
- Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
- Charles de Ketelaere scores a late winner for the home side.
- The defeat means Chelsea fall to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
- The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockout phase.
Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta fought back to win in their home stadium.
The two teams went into this match with identical points tallies in the initial stage of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to have accrued ten points.
For much of the game there was not much to choose between them in this contest too, even though Chelsea went ahead in the first half when the Brazilian finished the captain's cross.
But Atalanta remained a danger going on the attack, with former Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the backline.
Reece James fired wide in the second half but the home team increased the intensity and deservedly levelled when former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.
Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta secured the winning goal late on when the Chelsea defenders retreated from the midfielder, who took full advantage with a driven shot.
The visitors tried to rescue a draw late on but a superb stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.
The outcome means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two league phase games remaining.
Atalanta, in contrast, climb up to third, three points ahead of the Londoners.
Blues Breakdown - Concerning Form Continues
This was a extremely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them well placed to secure the top eight position 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 Atalanta took full advantage.
The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be leaving with nothing after taking the lead.
But the wider issue is that this perpetuates Chelsea's troubling sequence of results in all competitions.
Since beating Barcelona 3-0 at the end of November they are now winless in their last four games.
Too Many Rotations Proving Costly?
Chelsea boss Maresca made five changes for this game as he continued his run of rotating players in and out of the first team.
The changes here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds United and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.
Maresca will see squad rotation as necessary as he attempts to handle players' minutes and compete both at home and abroad, but he maintained the core group 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, Barcelona, and Arsenal," he said.
"If you see the five changes that we made compared to the previous game it may be different but it involves the eight or nine players who played Barcelona.
"The players who took to the field tonight are the ones playing almost all the matches."
What's Next for These Teams?
Chelsea's next European game sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).
The Italian team, meanwhile, host Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.
