The Blues' Hopes Dealt a Blow by Loss at Bergamo
Key Moments
- Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the advantage in the opening period.
- The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
- Charles de Ketelaere grabs a last-gasp winner for the home side.
- Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
- The top eight qualify automatically for the knockout phase.
Chelsea's ambitions of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages were suffered a setback as their Italian opponents fought back to win in Bergamo.
Both sides went into this fixture with the same points tallies in the league phase of this year's competition, having won, tied one, and lost to have accrued 10 points.
For extended periods there was little to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro turned in the captain's cross.
But Atalanta remained a threat going forwards, with ex- Premier League attacker creating issues for the defence.
Reece James fired wide in the second half but the home team raised the pressure and rightfully drew level when former West Ham United striker nodded home a centering pass.
The winger drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta scored the decisive strike late on when the Blues defenders retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a driven shot.
The visitors tried to salvage a point late on but a brilliant stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.
The final score means Chelsea drop out of the top eight—the positions that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase fixtures remaining.
Atalanta, in contrast, climb up to third, three points ahead of the Londoners.
Chelsea Analysis - Concerning Form Persists
This was a deeply disappointing outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top-eight finish they require to avoid the lottery of the play-offs.
But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents seized the moment.
The Italians 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 securing the lead.
But the bigger picture is that this perpetuates Chelsea's worrying run of results in all tournaments.
Since beating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the end of November they are now winless in their last four games.
Too Many Rotations Proving Costly?
Manager Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this match as he persisted with his run of rotating players in and out of the first team.
The rotations here followed after he implemented the same number for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.
The coach will view squad rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' minutes and challenge both at domestically and abroad, but he maintained the core group of players remains the unchanged for important fixtures.
"I think in this match [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham, Barcelona, and Arsenal," he said.
"If you look at the five alterations that we did relative to the previous game it may be a change but it is the eight or nine players who played in that match.
"The players who took to the field this evening are the individuals playing almost all the matches."
What Next for These Teams?
The Blues' next Champions League fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (20:00 GMT).
The Italian team, meanwhile, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.
