🔗 Share this article The Blues' Qualification Hopes Dealt a Blow by Loss at Atalanta Atalanta have secured victory in four of their past five games in all competitions. At a Glance 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. Charles de Ketelaere scores a last-gasp winner for the hosts. Loss means Chelsea slide to 11th in the league phase of the tournament. The top eight qualify automatically for the last 16. The London club's chances of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as their Italian opponents fought back to claim victory in Bergamo. The two teams entered this fixture with identical records in the league phase of this year's competition, having won, drawn, and suffered one defeat to be on ten points. For much of the game there was not much to choose between them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when the Brazilian converted the captain's cross. But Atalanta remained a threat going forwards, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman issues for the defence. Reece James shot wide in the after the break but the home team upped the intensity and deservedly equalised when ex-West Ham striker nodded home a cross. The winger hammered a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they got the winner late on when the Blues defenders backed off the midfielder, who made no mistake with a low strike. Chelsea attempted to salvage a point late on but a excellent stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Pedro. The outcome means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to 11th with two group stage matches remaining. The Bergamo club, in contrast, jump up to third, three points clear of the Londoners. Blues Breakdown - Concerning Sequence Continues This was a hugely frustrating result for Chelsea as even a draw was leaving them in a strong position to achieve the top eight finish they need to avoid the lottery of the play-offs. But they lost focus in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta took full advantage. The Italian side are in fine fettle at the moment so this was always going to be a difficult test 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 troubling sequence of results in all tournaments. Since defeating the Spanish giants 3-0 at the close of November they are now winless in their last four games. Excessive Changes Proving Costly? Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five rotations for this game as he persisted with his run of moving players in and out of the first team. The changes here followed after he implemented the identical amount for the loss to Leeds United and six for the tie with AFC Bournemouth prior to the journey to Atalanta. The coach will see squad rotation as vital as he attempts to manage players' fitness and compete both at domestically and abroad, but he insisted the central contingent 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, FC Barcelona, and the Gunners," he said. "If you look at the five changes that we made compared to the previous game it is different but it involves the same eight or nine players playing in that match. "The ones who took to the field this evening are the individuals playing almost all the games." What Next for These Teams? Chelsea's next European fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (8pm GMT). Atalanta, on the other hand, are at home to Athletic Club at the same time.