Chelsea's Automatic Qualification Ambitions Dealt a Blow by Defeat at Bergamo
At a Glance
- Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
- Atalanta the stronger side after the interval and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca.
- Charles de Ketelaere grabs a late decisive goal for the hosts.
- Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
- The top eight qualify automatically for the knockout phase.
The London club's hopes of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta fought back to claim victory in Bergamo.
Both sides went into this game with matching records in the league phase of this year's tournament, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to have accrued ten points.
For extended periods there was very little to distinguish them in this contest too, even though Chelsea took the lead in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian converted Reece James' delivery.
But The Serie A side remained a danger going forward, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing issues for the backline.
James shot wide in the after the break but the home team raised the intensity and deservedly drew level when ex-West Ham striker headed in a cross.
Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they secured the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who seized the opportunity with a powerful shot.
Chelsea attempted to rescue a point in stoppage time but a excellent save by the Atalanta goalkeeper denied Joao Pedro.
The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to 11th with two group stage matches remaining.
Atalanta, meanwhile, climb up to third, three points clear of the Londoners.
Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Continues
This was a extremely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them in a strong position to secure the top-eight position they require to bypass the lottery of the qualifying play-off round.
But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents capitalised completely.
The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the Blues, but they will be annoyed to be leaving with no points after securing the early advantage.
But the wider issue is that this extends Chelsea's troubling sequence of form in all tournaments.
Since defeating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the end of November they are now without a win in their last four matches.
Excessive Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?
Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five changes for this game as he persisted with his policy of rotating players in and out of the starting lineup.
The changes here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the defeat to Leeds United and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.
The coach will see squad rotation as essential as he tries to handle players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he maintained the key nucleus of players remains the same for important fixtures.
"I believe tonight [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, and the Gunners," he stated.
"If you look at the five changes that we did relative to Bournemouth it may be different but it involves the eight or nine players playing Barcelona.
"The players who took to the field tonight are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."
Up Next for These Sides?
The Blues' next Champions League fixture sees them welcome Pafos on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).
Atalanta, on the other hand, host Athletic Bilbao at the identical kick-off time.