Chelsea squandered a first-half advantage as they slipped to a damaging 2-1 Champions League defeat away to Atalanta on Tuesday night, leaving their hopes of finishing in the top eight precariously balanced.
Joao Pedro had given Enzo Maresca’s men the lead with a clever near-post finish, but the Premier League side were undone after the interval by a spirited Atalanta comeback.
Former West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca was completely unmarked when he headed home the equaliser 10 minutes into the second half, and Chelsea’s misery was sealed late on as Charles De Ketelaere thundered a brilliant strike beyond Robert Sánchez to complete the turnaround.
The Blues looked composed and confident in the opening 45 minutes, appearing set for a crucial win that would have left them within touching distance of a guaranteed last-16 place.
Instead, their collapse means they are now likely facing must-win assignments in both remaining matches, one of which is a daunting trip to face Antonio Conte’s reigning Italian champions Napoli in January—if they are to avoid the dreaded playoff stage.
Ademola Lookman caused consistent problems for Chelsea early on. Within minutes, he surged to the byline and fired a cross that ricocheted off Sánchez before being hacked away.
The tricky winger also had a fierce strike blocked by Josh Acheampong, making his first start since October, before Marten de Roon lashed the rebound narrowly over.
Pedro eventually broke the deadlock on 25 minutes, sliding Reece James’s low delivery under Marco Carnesecchi.
Though the flag initially went up against the Chelsea captain, VAR intervened to confirm James’ perfectly timed run and assist.
James fired wide shortly after the restart as Chelsea pushed for a second. Lookman then had an effort chalked off for offside prior to Jamie Gittens being denied by Carnesecchi at the other end.
But Atalanta’s mounting pressure finally told. De Ketelaere found space out wide and delivered a teasing ball, Scamacca was inexplicably unchallenged and nodded home to level.
Sánchez kept Chelsea alive with an excellent save from another Scamacca header, but the visitors were eventually punished.
With seven minutes remaining, De Ketelaere powered past Marc Cucurella and rifled the winner high into the net as the home crowd erupted.
Pedro had one final chance deep into stoppage-time, only to fire straight at Carnesecchi.
Atalanta held firm, leapfrogging Chelsea in the group standings and leaving the Blues with a growing mountain to climb in Europe.
