The Blues' Hopes Suffer a Setback by Defeat at Bergamo
Key Moments
- Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
- The Italian outfit the stronger side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
- The Belgian attacker nets a late winner for the hosts.
- Loss means Chelsea fall to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
- The top eight qualify automatically for the knockout phase.
Chelsea's chances of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were hit hard as Atalanta came from behind to claim victory in their home stadium.
The two teams went into this game with the same points tallies in the league phase of this season's competition, having won, tied one, and lost to be on ten points.
For much of the game there was not much to choose between them in this contest too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when the Brazilian turned in Reece James' delivery.
But Atalanta consistently appeared a threat going on the attack, with former Premier League attacker creating problems for the defence.
Reece James shot wide in the second half but the home team raised the pressure and deservedly drew level when former West Ham United striker nodded home a cross.
Alejandro Garnacho hammered a strong effort straight at the keeper but Atalanta secured the winner late on when the Chelsea defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a powerful finish.
Chelsea attempted to salvage a draw late on but a excellent save by Marco Carnesecchi kept out Joao Pedro.
The result means Chelsea slip out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two league phase matches left to play.
The Bergamo club, in contrast, jump up to third, three points clear of the Londoners.
Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Persists
This was a extremely disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to secure the top-eight position they require to bypass the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.
But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents seized the moment.
The Italian side are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the visitors, but they will be annoyed to be departing with nothing after taking the lead.
But the broader context is that this extends Chelsea's troubling streak of form in all competitions.
Since beating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the end of November they are now without a win in their last four outings.
Excessive Rotations Proving Costly?
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca enacted five changes for this match as he continued his policy of moving players in and out of the first team.
The rotations here came after he implemented the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Bergamo.
Maresca will see rotation as essential as he tries to manage players' workloads and compete both at home and abroad, but he insisted the central contingent of players stays the unchanged for crucial fixtures.
"I believe in this match [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, and Arsenal," he commented.
"If you look at the five changes that we made compared to Bournemouth it may be a change but it involves the eight or nine players playing in that match.
"The ones who played this evening are the individuals playing almost all the games."
What Next for These Sides?
Chelsea's next Champions League fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).
Atalanta, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.
