Atalanta 2-1 Chelsea

Chelsea have now made it 4 straight matches without a win since beating Barcelona on November 25th. After going 1-0 up in the first half, the Blues could not hold on to their lead and lost 2-1 to Atalanta in Bergamo yesterday, courtesy of a bullet header by Gianluca Scamacca and a deflected shot by Charles De Ketalaere who also assisted the first goal.

Scamacca started up top for Raffaele Palladino’s men in a 3421 formation, with Ademola Lookman and Charles De Ketalaere behind him as the double 10s. For Chelsea, Joao Pedro started up top, flanked by Jamie Bynoe-Gittens on the left and Pedro Neto on the right, with Enzo Fernandez in attacking midfield.

From minute 1, the contest between Chelsea and Atalanta was marked by a sharp attacking intent from the Italian side, even as Chelsea ultimately took a slender lead into the half-time interval. The first major chance arrived quickly in the 6th minute, signalling Atalanta’s ambition. Ademola Lookman drove into the penalty box, forcing a save from Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez with his near-post effort. Charles De Ketelaere was unable to reach the rebound in time to capitalize.
Early in the match, Atalanta were forced into an adjustment in the 17th minute, with Davide Zappacosta replacing Raoul Bellanova.

Atalanta continued to create dangerous situations, and in the 19th minute, they mounted another significant attack. A low cross found Gianluca Scamacca, whose initial shot was blocked by a Chelsea defender. The subsequent rebound fell directly to Ademola Lookman, but defender Josh Acheampong produced a crucial, last-ditch block from close range, denying what appeared to be a certain goal.

Despite Atalanta’s early dominance in terms of clear-cut opportunities, it was Chelsea who broke the deadlock in the 25th minute through João Pedro. The goal was set up by Reece James, who delivered a low, left-sided cross. Pedro managed to poke the ball in at the near post, beating goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi. The goal was subjected to a thorough VAR check, as it was initially ruled out for offside against Reece James, but the decision was overturned, and the goal was confirmed. The remaining minutes of the first half saw Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah receive the first yellow card of the match in the 29th minute for a foul. Atalanta then had a few chances to equalize but none were taken.

The second half began with Chelsea making a defensive substitution: Wesley Fofana was brought on to replace the cautioned Trevoh Chalobah. Despite the defensive change, Chelsea started the second half aggressively. In the 46th minute, Reece James had a shot on the edge of the box blocked, and he then dragged the follow-up shot from 18 yards narrowly wide of the target in a near miss.

The sustained pressure from Atalanta eventually paid off in the 55th minute as they found the equaliser. Charles De Ketelaere delivered a superb cross from the right wing. The cross found Gianluca Scamacca unmarked at the back post, who powered a header past Sánchez to level the score.
With the momentum now clearly shifted, Atalanta pressed for the lead. In the 62nd minute, Scamacca had another significant chance with a glancing header from a cross, but Robert Sánchez kept Chelsea in the game with a fine, one-handed, clawing save.

Chelsea responded with a double substitution in the 66th minute, aiming to regain control of the midfield and attack. Alejandro Garnacho came on for Pedro Neto, and Malo Gusto replaced Enzo Fernández. Atalanta followed suit in the 71st minute with a double change of their own: Honest Ahanor replaced Sead Kolasinac, and Nikola Krstović came on for goal-scorer Gianluca Scamacca.

The match entered a period of increased defensive uncertainty for Chelsea, leading to another forced substitution in the 76th minute. Wesley Fofana, who had only been on the pitch since half-time, had to be replaced by Tosin Adarabioyo. Earlier, in the 75th minute, Chelsea’s substitute Alejandro Garnacho cut inside and fired a shot that forced a save from Atalanta’s goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi.

However, Atalanta completed their comeback to take the lead in the 83rd minute with the decisive goal. Charles De Ketelaere was the scorer, receiving the ball from a quick free-kick. His right-footed shot took a crucial deflection off Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella before sailing past the diving Robert Sánchez, making the score 2-1.

In an attempt to see out the victory, Atalanta made their final two substitutions in the 87th minute: Mario Pasalić replaced Ademola Lookman, and Yunus Musah came on for Éderson.
Chelsea pushed desperately for a late equaliser in the dying minutes.

In the 89th minute, goalkeeper Carnesecchi was forced to get down quickly to push away a powerful shot from Alejandro Garnacho. In the final minute of normal time, João Pedro set up Reece James, whose shot from the edge of the box went wide. The very last opportunity came deep into stoppage time at the 90+4 minute mark. João Pedro had a final chance to equalise from Josh Acheampong’s knockdown, but his close-range shot was saved by Marco Carnesecchi, confirming the defeat for Chelsea. The final score stood at Atalanta 2-1 Chelsea.