Chelsea's Automatic Qualification Ambitions Hit by Loss at Atalanta

At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
• The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and equalise through the striker.
• Charles de Ketelaere scores a late winner for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
• The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockouts.

The London club's hopes of securing a place automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to claim victory in their home stadium.

Each club went into this game with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this season's competition, having won, drawn, and lost to have accrued ten points.

For much of the game there was not much to choose between them in this encounter too, although Chelsea took the lead in the first half when the Brazilian finished Reece James' delivery.

But Atalanta remained a danger going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the defence.

Reece James fired wide in the second half but the home team increased the pressure and rightfully equalised when former West Ham United striker nodded home a cross.

The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta got the winner in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a driven finish.

The visitors tried to salvage a draw in stoppage time but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.

The result means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase fixtures left to play.

Atalanta, meanwhile, leap up to third place, three points clear of the Londoners.

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Continues

This was a extremely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to secure the top-eight finish they require to bypass the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.

But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta seized the moment.

The Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a tough examination for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with nothing after securing the early advantage.

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

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 Costly?

Chelsea boss Maresca made five changes for this match as he continued his run of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.

The changes here followed after he made the same number for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will view squad rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the core group of players remains the unchanged for crucial fixtures.

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

"If you look at the five alterations that we did relative to the previous game it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

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

What's Next for These Teams?

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

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