Chelsea's Hopes Dealt a Blow by Loss at Atalanta

At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late winner for the home side.
• Loss means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the league phase of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to claim victory in Bergamo.

The two teams went into this fixture with the same points tallies in the league phase of this season's tournament, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to have accrued 10 points.

For much of the game there was very little to separate them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in the captain's delivery.

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

Reece James fired wide in the second half but the home team raised the intensity and deservedly equalised when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a centering pass.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but they secured the winning goal late on when the Blues defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a driven shot.

Chelsea tried to rescue a draw late on but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

The final score means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage matches left to play.

The Bergamo club, in contrast, jump up to third place, three points ahead of the Londoners.

Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Persists

This was a deeply disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them well placed to secure the top eight position they need to avoid the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta capitalised completely.

The Italian side are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be departing with nothing after securing the lead.

But the broader context is that this perpetuates Chelsea's troubling sequence of form in all tournaments.

Since beating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the close of November they are now winless in their last four outings.

Excessive Rotations Turning Out to Be Costly?

Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five changes for this game as he continued his policy of moving players in and out of the first team.

The rotations here came after he made the same number for the loss to Leeds United and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will view squad rotation as necessary as he attempts to handle players' workloads and compete both at home and abroad, but he stated the key nucleus of players stays the same for crucial games.

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

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

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

What's Next for These Clubs?

Chelsea's next European game sees them host the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).

Atalanta, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.