Chelsea's Automatic Qualification Ambitions Suffer a Setback by Defeat at Atalanta
Match Summary
- Joao Pedro hands Chelsea the lead in the first half.
- The Italian outfit the better side after the break and draw level through Gianluca Scamacca.
- Charles de Ketelaere nets a late winner for the home side.
- Loss means Chelsea drop to 11th in the group stage of the tournament.
- The leading eight teams progress automatically for the knockouts.
Chelsea's hopes of securing a place automatically for the European Cup knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta came from behind to triumph in their home stadium.
Each club went into this game with the same points tallies in the initial stage of this season's tournament, having won, tied one, and suffered one defeat to sit on 10 points.
For extended periods there was very little to separate them in this contest too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when Joao Pedro converted the captain's cross.
But The Serie A side remained a danger going forwards, with ex- Premier League attacker causing problems for the backline.
James shot wide in the second half but the home team raised the intensity and justly equalised when ex-West Ham striker headed in a cross.
Alejandro Garnacho drove a powerful shot straight at the goalkeeper but they scored the winning goal in the closing stages when the Blues defenders backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a powerful shot.
Chelsea tried to salvage a draw late on but a excellent stop by the Atalanta goalkeeper kept out Joao Pedro.
The final score means Chelsea drop out of the automatic qualification places—the spots that progress automatically for the next round—to eleventh with two group stage fixtures left to play.
The Bergamo club, meanwhile, climb up to third place, three points clear of the Londoners.
Chelsea Analysis - Worrying Sequence Continues
This was a deeply frustrating outcome for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them in a strong position to secure the top eight position they need to avoid the uncertainty of the qualifying play-off round.
But they lost focus in defence with seven minutes left on the clock and their opponents seized the moment.
The Italians are in rich vein of form at the moment so this was always going to be a challenging examination for the visitors, but they will be disappointed to be departing with nothing after taking the lead.
But the wider issue is that this continues Chelsea's worrying streak of results in all competitions.
Since beating Barcelona 3-0 at the close of November they are now without a win in their last four games.
Too Many Changes Turning Out to Be Expensive?
Manager Enzo Maresca enacted five alterations for this match as he persisted with his strategy of rotating players in and out of the starting 11.
The changes here followed after he made the same number for the loss to Leeds United and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo.
The coach will see squad rotation as vital as he tries to handle players' fitness and challenge both at domestically and in Europe, but he insisted the key nucleus of players remains the same for key games.
"I think in this match [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who featured against Tottenham, Barcelona, and the Gunners," he stated.
"If you look at the five changes that we made relative to Bournemouth it is different but it is the same eight or nine players playing in that match.
"The players who played this evening are the ones who feature in almost all the matches."
What Next for These Teams?
Chelsea's next European fixture sees them host the Cypriot side on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT).
The Italian team, on the other hand, host Athletic Club at the identical kick-off time.
