Chelsea's Automatic Qualification Ambitions Dealt a Blow by Defeat at Bergamo
Key Moments
- The Chelsea forward gives Chelsea the lead in the first half.
- Atalanta the better side after the interval and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
- Charles de Ketelaere scores a last-gasp decisive goal for the hosts.
- Loss means Chelsea fall to 11th in the group stage of the Champions League.
- The leading eight teams qualify automatically for the knockouts.
Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were dealt a blow as Atalanta fought back to win in their home stadium.
The two teams went into this match with the same points tallies in the league phase of this season's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and suffered one defeat to sit on 10 points.
For large parts there was little to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when the Brazilian converted Reece James' delivery.
But The Serie A side remained a danger going forward, with former Charlton and Everton attacker creating problems for the defence.
James shot wide in the after the break but Atalanta increased the pressure and justly levelled when former West Ham United striker nodded home a centering pass.
The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they secured the decisive strike in the closing stages when the Chelsea defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who seized the opportunity with a low strike.
The visitors attempted to rescue a draw in stoppage time but a brilliant stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.
The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the top eight—the spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two league phase matches remaining.
Atalanta, meanwhile, leap up to third place, three points ahead of the Blues.
Blues Breakdown - Worrying Sequence Continues
This was a hugely frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a draw 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 lacked concentration in their defensive duties with seven minutes remaining and their opponents seized the moment.
The Italians are in good form at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult examination for the Blues, but they will be disappointed to be leaving with no points after taking the lead.
But the bigger picture is that this perpetuates Chelsea's troubling sequence of results in all competitions.
Since defeating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the end of November they are now without a win in their last four outings.
Excessive Rotations Proving Expensive?
Manager Enzo Enzo Maresca made five alterations for this game as he continued his strategy of moving players in and out of the starting lineup.
The rotations here came after he made the same number for the defeat to Leeds and six for the tie with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta.
Maresca will see rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' minutes and challenge both at home and abroad, but he insisted the core group of players remains the unchanged for important games.
"I think in this match [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, Barcelona, and Arsenal," he commented.
"If you see the five alterations that we made compared to the previous game it may be different but it involves the eight or nine players who played in that match.
"The ones who played tonight are the individuals who feature in almost all the games."
What Next for These Sides?
The Blues' next European fixture sees them welcome the Cypriot side on Wednesday, 21 January (8pm GMT).
Atalanta, on the other hand, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.
