The Blues' Hopes Dealt a Blow by Defeat at Bergamo
At a Glance
- Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the advantage in the first half.
- The Italian outfit the stronger side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
- The Belgian attacker scores a last-gasp winner for the home side.
- The defeat means Chelsea fall to eleventh place in the group stage of the Champions League.
- The top eight qualify automatically for the knockouts.
The London club's hopes of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta fought back to triumph in Bergamo.
Each club entered this match with identical records in the league phase of this year's tournament, having won, drawn, and lost to be on ten points.
For much of the game there was very little to choose between them in this encounter too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished the captain's delivery.
But The Serie A side remained a threat going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing problems for the backline.
Reece James shot wide in the second half but Atalanta increased the pressure and deservedly drew level when former West Ham United striker headed in a cross.
Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta scored the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a powerful shot.
The visitors attempted to rescue a draw late on but a brilliant stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Joao Pedro.
The result means Chelsea slip out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two league phase matches remaining.
The Bergamo club, meanwhile, climb up to third place, three points ahead of the Blues.
Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Sequence Continues
This was a extremely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a point was leaving them in a strong position to achieve the top-eight position they require to bypass the uncertainty of the play-offs.
But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and their opponents capitalised completely.
The Italian side are in good 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 no points after taking the lead.
But the broader context is that this continues Chelsea's worrying sequence of form in all competitions.
Since defeating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the close of November they are now winless in their last four outings.
Excessive Rotations Proving Expensive?
Manager Enzo Maresca enacted five alterations for this match as he persisted with his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.
The rotations here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta.
The coach will see rotation as essential as he tries to manage players' minutes and compete both at domestically and abroad, but he insisted the key nucleus of players stays the same for crucial games.
"I believe in this match [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham Hotspur, FC Barcelona, and Arsenal," he commented.
"If you see the five changes that we made relative to the previous game it is a change but it is the same eight or nine players who played in that match.
"The players who took to the field this evening are the ones playing almost all the games."
What's Next for These Clubs?
Chelsea's next European fixture sees them welcome Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).
The Italian team, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.
