{"id":335743,"date":"2025-12-10T01:13:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T01:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/335743\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T01:13:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T01:13:07","slug":"chelseas-top-eight-hopes-hit-by-atalanta-after-de-ketelaere-seals-comeback-win-champions-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/335743\/","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea\u2019s top-eight hopes hit by Atalanta after De Ketelaere seals comeback win | Champions League"},"content":{"rendered":"

There were no answers to Chelsea\u2019s search for consistency here. Instead they supplied more evidence that they lack the resilience for a Champions League<\/a> tilt that may now have to be tackled the hard way. This damaging late defeat completed a grim week on the road and had implications for the longer-term picture. They are staring down the barrel of a February playoff that could stretch Enzo Maresca\u2019s side, active almost year-round, to the very limit.<\/p>\n

Atalanta twice punished weak defending and, crucially, preyed on their opponents\u2019 inability to overcome setbacks. It is a problem Chelsea cannot quite shrug off and, at this level, such recidivism comes at a cost. When Charles De Ketelaere, the game\u2019s outstanding player, blasted in a deflected winner after being invited to take aim they could hardly claim not to have been warned.<\/p>\n

The tone of the occasion had shifted with Gianluca Scamacca\u2019s 55th\u2011minute equaliser, until which point Chelsea<\/a> appeared to have dulled the home threat. They were looking more likely to score another of their own when the hulking former West Ham striker somehow drifted away from their centre-backs to nod De Ketelaere\u2019s cross past a horribly exposed Robert S\u00e1nchez. The keeper needed more help than that and it may not be unduly harsh to suggest that his manager could have provided it.<\/p>\n

It could be taken as read that Maresca would rotate so there were few eyebrows raised when he made five changes from the team that trudged forgettably through Saturday at Bournemouth<\/a>. But the half\u2011time substitution of Trevoh Chalobah, who was replaced by Wesley Fofana, was not straight from the textbook.<\/p>\n

Maresca explained that it was a planned move to manage Chalobah\u2019s playing time, adding the defender was on a yellow card. He could not have foreseen that Fofana would last half an hour before succumbing to an eye injury but it highlighted the risk factor of tinkering.<\/p>\n

Fofana\u2019s departure, caused by accidental contact from Scamacca that left him struggling for clear vision, meant Tosin Adarabioyo was next to have a go at restricting Atalanta.<\/p>\n

The hosts already scented blood and another reorganisation was hardly ideal. \u201cIt changed a little bit the plan of the game,\u201d said Maresca, who had kept Est\u00eav\u00e3o Willian up his sleeve but had now filled his quota of changes. Chelsea were already listing. \u201cAfter we conceded the goal for 1-1 we lost control of the game a little bit. I think we can avoid both goals, they\u2019re quite easy goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gianluca Scamacca heads Atalanta\u2019s equaliser past Robert S\u00e1nchez. Photograph: Alessandro Sabattini\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

De Ketelaere\u2019s path to glory was certainly simplified by the extent to which Beno\u00eet Badiashile and Marc Cucurella backpedaled as he broke from midway inside Chelsea\u2019s half and bore deep into their penalty area. One of them could have faced the Belgian down well before he got that far. Cucurella\u2019s punishment was the snick that gave S\u00e1nchez, whose hand to the ball was not enough, little chance and left Chelsea nursing a single point from three away games in Europe.<\/p>\n

The frustration was that they had survived a stiff early examination and looked well placed to push on. S\u00e1nchez had denied Ademola Lookman and Josh Acheampong, on his first Champions League start, had earned acclaim from several teammates with a point-blank block from the same player.<\/p>\n

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When they finally put a move together, it reaped dividends. The flag was initially raised when Jo\u00e3o Pedro neatly snicked in a low cross from Reece James, who had been sent to the left byline after a short-corner routine. But replays immediately made clear the decision would not survive a video assistant referee check and, within a minute, their advantage was confirmed. It was Jo\u00e3o Pedro\u2019s first goal in this competition and a well-timed intervention given Liam Delap will spend around a month out with his shoulder injury.<\/p>\n

Fast-forward to the game\u2019s final meaningful kick and Jo\u00e3o Pedro would be wincing, having failed to make clean contact with a glorious late volleyed chance that was aimed straight at Marco Carnesecchi. It was not as if Chelsea, for all their skittish defensive work, lacked opportunities to change the complexion. Before Scamacca escaped their clutches they had been pushing to open up an insurmountable lead, James drilling wide when given a decent sight and Jamie Gittens stinging Carnesecchi\u2019s palms.<\/p>\n

They were made to regret not turning the screw. That emotion may be heightened if they are forced to accept a playoff spot and, more happily, beat Cardiff in the Carabao Cup quarter-final next week. Put together, those eventualities would add separate two-legged ties to their winter schedule and mean they face 21 games between now and the end of February.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aware, absolutely,\u201d Maresca said of that particular spectre. \u201cProbably with two wins you can be in the top eight.\u201d They will need to come against Pafos and, fiendishly, at Napoli. For now, though, Chelsea must simply crave home comforts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There were no answers to Chelsea\u2019s search for consistency here. Instead they supplied more evidence that they lack…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-335743","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-soccer","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}