Enzo Maresca: Chelsea Loses Control In Defeat Against Atalanta In Champions League

JAKARTA - Manager Enzo Maresca said Chelsea lost control of the Champions League match against Atalanta in Bergamo before finally losing 1-2.

The Blues took the lead in the first half through Joao Pedro's goal near the post, but were surprised after the break as the Serie A team hit back.

First, West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca was left unsupervised to score a equalizer when the second half game had only been running for 10 minutes.

Then, a beautiful goal in the final minutes from Charles De Ketelaere, who fired a hard shot past Robert Sanchez, confirmed the hosts' victory.

"After conceding, we lost control. In the second half, we had two good chances to score a second goal. When we conceded and the score became 1-1, we lost concentration. We were able to avoid both goals. It was easy goals," said Maresca.

Chelsea seemed to be at the top of performance during the break and were heading for a win that would put them on the ticket threshold automatically to the round of 16.

Trevh Chalobah looked impressive but received a yellow card so it had to be replaced, as did Enzo Fernandez who was then pulled out. It seemed to disturb the team's rhythm and allowed Atalanta to return to winning ways.

"Both substitutions were due to Trev and Enzo, they played every minute of every game. They were both not 100 percent. Trev got a yellow card. This is the reason we replaced them," said the Italian coach.

Chelsea seem to need a win in the remaining two games. They will face Cyprus club, Pafos, at Stamford Bridge in January 2026 before ending the group stage with a difficult journey against Serie A champion Antonio Conte's Napoli.

If you fail to get maximum points, it is almost certain that there will be a playoffs match that must be played in February 2026, which will further complicate the busy schedule.

"We realized (how busy their schedule was with the playoffs). Of course. Now the game is over. The focus is on the match on Saturday, December 13, 2025 (against Everton). We need to win the game."

"Maybe we need two wins. banks of points will probably take you to the top eight, I'm not sure. The next game, of course, if we want to finish in the top eight, we have to win both," said Maresca.

The match became open after Pedro and Atalanta's goals took advantage of it just before an hour of the game. The impressive De Ketelaere received the ball in the open space on the right.

When the ball came, none of the Chelsea players were guarding Scamacca, who jumped unsupervisedly in the penalty box to head the ball and past Sanchez.

A draw may be fair, but with seven minutes remaining, De Ketelaere broke through Marc Cucurella and scored a winning goal past Sanchez.

"What is certain is that we conceded two goals which I think we can avoid. When you conceded, the first goal was a moment where you couldn't lose control of the game, but I felt we lost control of the game after we conceded," said Maresca.