Charles De Ketelaere dealt a major blow to Chelsea’s hopes of securing a top-eight finish in the Champions League league phase, scoring a late winner to give Atalanta a 2-1 victory.
Match Report
After assisting Gianluca Scamacca’s equaliser earlier in the second half, the Belgian forward struck the decisive goal seven minutes from time, firing past Robert Sanchez.
The win moves Atalanta up to third in the 36-team standings—three points and eight positions ahead of Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea, who now have just two league-phase matches left.
Atalanta should have been in front inside six minutes when Ademola Lookman’s near-post strike slipped through Sanchez, but De Ketelaere hesitated and missed the rebound.
Chelsea opened the scoring in the 25th minute when Reece James delivered from the left for Joao Pedro to finish first time. The flag initially went up for offside, but VAR overturned it, giving the Brazilian his goal.
James nearly doubled the lead early in the second half but dragged his effort wide. Lookman then had a tap-in disallowed for offside almost immediately at the other end.
The hosts eventually equalised in the 55th minute, with De Ketelaere delivering a pinpoint cross for Scamacca to head home at the back post.
Scamacca almost scored again seven minutes later, but Sanchez produced a fine save to push away his glancing header.
De Ketelaere would then have the final word, seeing his powerful shot deflect off Marc Cucurella and into the net. Goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi later denied Alejandro Garnacho and Joao Pedro to preserve the win.
Data Debrief: Chelsea’s halftime curse ends
Chelsea had gone 41 consecutive Champions League games without defeat when leading at the break, but that run was ended here—their first such loss since September 2013.
Scamacca helped spark the comeback and has now registered a goal involvement in each of his last three matches across all competitions, after producing just one in his previous nine.
However, De Ketelaere was the standout performer, creating a joint-high three chances (level with Reece James).
Atalanta’s win appeared deserved, backed by an xG tally of 1.74 compared to Chelsea’s 1.25.
