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Atalanta have won four of their past five games in all competitions At a glance Joao Pedro gives Chelsea the lead in the first half Atalanta better side after break and equalise through Gianluca Scamacca Charles de Ketelaere grabs late winner for hosts Loss means Chelsea drop to 11th in league phase of Champions League Top eight qualify automatically for knockouts Chelsea's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta came from behind to win in Bergamo. Both sides went into this game with identical records in the league phase of this year's tournament, having won three, drawn one and lost one to sit on 10 points. For large parts there was little to separate them in this game, too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when Joao Pedro turned in Reece James' cross. But Atalanta always looked a threat going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker Ademola Lookman causing problems. James shot wide in the second half but Atalanta upped the pressure and deservedly levelled when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca headed in a cross. Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the winner late on when the Blues defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a driven strike. Chelsea tried to rescue a point late on but a superb save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro. The result means Chelsea drop out of the top eight - the places that qualify automatically for the knockouts - to 11th with two league phase games remaining. Atalanta, meanwhile, leap up to third, three points ahead of the Blues. This was a hugely disappointing result for Chelsea as even a draw was keeping them well placed to secure the top-eight finish they need to avoid the lottery of the play-offs. But they let their concentration slip in defence with seven minutes remaining and Atalanta took full advantage. The Italians are in good form 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 taking the lead. But the bigger picture is that this continues Chelsea's concerning run of form in all competitions. Since beating Barcelona 3-0 at the end of November they are now without a win in their last four games. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made five changes for this game as he continued his run of moving players in and out of the starting 11. The changes here came after he made the same number for the loss to Leeds and six for the draw with Bournemouth prior to the trip to Atalanta. Maresca will see rotation as necessary as he tries to manage players' workloads and compete both at home and abroad, but he insisted the core group of players remains the same for key games. "I think tonight [in] the first XI we had eight or nine players who played against Tottenham, Barcelona and Arsenal, " he said. "If you see the five changes that we did compared to Bournemouth it is is different but it is the eight or nine players playing Barcelona. "The ones who played tonight are the ones playing almost all the games. " Chelsea's next Champions League game sees them host Pafos on Wednesday, 21 January (20: 00 GMT). Atalanta, meanwhile, host Athletic Club at the same time. Have your say on Chelsea’s performance After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 9th December 2025 at 22: 01 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Raffaele Palladino Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Manager: Enzo Maresca Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Raffaele Palladino Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Manager: Enzo Maresca Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 UEFA Champions League All competitions Atalanta and Chelsea will meet for the first time in European competition, while the Italian side have only won one of their previous seven games against English sides in the UEFA Champions League (D3 L3). This will be Chelsea’s first away game against an Italian opponent since October 2022, in a 2-0 victory away to Milan. Prior to that game, the Blues had only won one of their first 10 matches away to Italian sides in the UEFA Champions League (D3 L6): 4-0 v Lazio in November 2003. Atalanta have kept eight clean sheets in their 15 UEFA Champions League games since the start of last season. Among teams to have played in both campaigns, only Internazionale (55% - 11/20) have a higher clean sheet rate than Atalanta (53%). Chelsea are winless in their last four away games in the UEFA Champions League (D1 L3), last going five in a row without a victory in February 2012 (5). After a loss to Bayern Munich (1-3) and a draw versus Qarabag (2-2), Enzo Maresca could become just the third Chelsea manager to not win any of his first three away matches in charge in the competition, after André Villas-Boas (2011-12) and Luiz Felipe Scolari (2008-09). All six of Atalanta’s UEFA Champions League goals have come in the second half of games, with only them and Kairat Almaty failing to score in the opening 45 minutes this term. Atalanta scored three goals in a five-minute second half spell at Eintracht Frankfurt last time out. This will be Chelsea’s 100th away game in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League. The Blues have 41 wins in 99 to date, already the most by any English side through their first 100 matches, and second only to Barcelona (44) overall. Only Man City (91. 5%) and PSG (91. 2%) have a higher passing accuracy than Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League this season, with the Blues’ 89. 3% their highest on record (since 2003-04) in a single campaign in the competition. 18-year-old Estêvão is Chelsea’s top scorer in the UEFA Champions League this season with three goals. It’s the joint-most goals a teenager has scored for a Premier League side in a single campaign in the competition, level with Wayne Rooney in 2004-05. Charles De Ketelaere has been involved in 11 goals in his last 11 UEFA Champions League appearances for Atalanta (5 goals, 6 assists), despite a recent run of six games without a goal or assist in the competition (ended with two involvements against Eintracht Frankfurt last time out). Moisés Caicedo has completed 91. 7% of his passes made under high-intensity pressure in the UEFA Champions League this season (111/121); the third-highest completion rate by a midfielder (min. 100 attempted), only behind Frenkie de Jong (94%) and Vitinha (91. 9%). Match ends, Atalanta 2, Chelsea 1. Second Half ends, Atalanta 2, Chelsea 1. Foul by Jamie Gittens (Chelsea). Mario Pasalic (Atalanta) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt saved. João Pedro (Chelsea) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is saved in the centre of the goal by Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta). Assisted by Josh Acheampong with a headed pass. Moisés Caicedo (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Yunus Musah (Atalanta). Attempt missed. Reece James (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by João Pedro. Fourth official has announced 4 minutes of added time. Attempt saved. Alejandro Garnacho (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner by Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta). Assisted by Marc Cucurella. Substitution, Atalanta. Mario Pasalic replaces Ademola Lookman. Substitution, Atalanta. Yunus Musah replaces Éderson. Attempt missed. Nikola Krstovic (Atalanta) right footed shot from the right side of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Charles De Ketelaere. Goal! Atalanta 2, Chelsea 1. Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Marten de Roon. Nikola Krstovic (Atalanta) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Tosin Adarabioyo (Chelsea). Éderson (Atalanta) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Malo Gusto (Chelsea). Attempt blocked. Nikola Krstovic (Atalanta) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Honest Ahanor. Marten de Roon (Atalanta) wins a free kick on the left wing. Copyright © 2025 BBC. 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