🔗 Share this article Chelsea's Automatic Qualification Ambitions Dealt a Blow by Loss at Bergamo The hosts 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 break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca. Charles de Ketelaere nets a last-gasp decisive goal for the home side. Loss means Chelsea drop to eleventh place in the group stage of the tournament. The top eight progress automatically for the knockouts. The London club's chances of qualifying automatically for the European Cup knockout stages were hit hard as their Italian opponents overturned a deficit to claim victory in Bergamo. Both sides went into this game with identical points tallies in the league phase of this year's tournament, having secured three victories, tied one, and lost to sit on 10 points. For extended periods there was very little to choose between them in this encounter too, even though Chelsea got their noses in front in the opening 45 minutes when the Brazilian finished Reece James' cross. But Atalanta remained a danger going forward, with ex- Charlton and Everton attacker causing problems for the backline. James shot wide in the after the break but the home team upped the intensity and justly levelled when former West Ham United striker nodded home a centering pass. Alejandro Garnacho hammered a powerful shot straight at the keeper but Atalanta got the winning goal late on when the Chelsea defence retreated from Charles de Ketelaere, who made no mistake with a powerful shot. Chelsea tried to salvage a point late on but a excellent stop by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro. The outcome means Chelsea fall out of the automatic qualification places—the positions that qualify automatically for the knockouts—to eleventh with two group stage matches left to play. Atalanta, meanwhile, jump up to third, three points clear of the Londoners. Blues Breakdown - Worrying Run Persists This was a extremely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a point was keeping them well placed to achieve the top-eight position they require to bypass the lottery of the play-offs. But they let their concentration slip in their defensive duties with seven minutes left on the clock and Atalanta 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 nothing after securing the lead. But the broader context is that this perpetuates Chelsea's concerning streak of results in all tournaments. Since defeating Barcelona 3-0 at the close of November they are now winless in their last four games. Excessive Rotations Proving Expensive? Chelsea boss Maresca enacted five changes for this match as he persisted with his policy of moving players in and out of the first team. The changes here followed after he made the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the draw with AFC Bournemouth prior to the trip to Bergamo. The coach will view squad rotation as essential as he attempts to handle players' fitness and challenge both at home and in Europe, but he stated the key nucleus of players stays the unchanged for important games. "I think in this match [in] the starting lineup we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham, Barcelona, and the Gunners," he commented. "If you look at the five changes that we made compared to Bournemouth it is different but it is the same eight or nine players playing in that match. "The players who played tonight are the ones who feature in almost all the games." What's Next for These Sides? The Blues' next European fixture sees them host Pafos on the coming Wednesday (20:00 GMT). The Italian team, meanwhile, are at home to Athletic Bilbao at the same time.