Chelsea's Automatic Qualification Ambitions Suffer a Setback by Reverse at Bergamo

At a Glance

• Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the opening period.
• Atalanta the better side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
• The Belgian attacker grabs a last-gasp decisive goal for the hosts.
• The defeat means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the league phase of the Champions League.
• The top eight progress automatically for the last 16.

The London club's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were hit hard as Atalanta fought back to triumph in Bergamo.

The two teams went into this match with identical records in the league phase of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, drawn, and suffered one defeat to be on ten points.

For much of the game there was little to distinguish them in this encounter too, although Chelsea went ahead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro finished the captain's cross.

But The Serie A side always looked a threat going forward, with former Premier League attacker Ademola Lookman problems for the defence.

James fired wide in the second half but the home team increased the intensity and deservedly equalised when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca a cross.

Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the decisive strike late on when the Blues defence retreated from the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a low strike.

The visitors attempted to salvage a draw late on but a excellent stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.

The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that qualify automatically for the next round—to 11th with two group stage matches remaining.

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

Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Persists

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

But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents took full advantage.

The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test for the Blues, but they will be frustrated to be departing with no points after securing the early advantage.

But the bigger picture is that this perpetuates Chelsea's worrying streak of form in all tournaments.

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

Too Many Rotations Proving Expensive?

Manager Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this game as he persisted with his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting 11.

The changes here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.

The coach will view squad rotation as vital as he tries to manage players' minutes and compete both at home and abroad, but he stated the core group of players stays the unchanged for important games.

"I think in this match [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, and Arsenal," he stated.

"If you see the five alterations that we made compared to the previous game it may be a change but it involves the same eight or nine players who played Barcelona.

"The ones who played tonight are the ones playing almost all the games."

What Next for These Sides?

The Blues' next Champions League game sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

Atalanta, on the other hand, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.