On the surface level, Chelsea's 2-1 defeat in Bergamo on Tuesday had the look of one inflicted on them by Enzo Maresca making the wrong adjustments at the back end of the pitch. A midfield of right backs and a back four that had been forced into too many changes buckled, Charles De Ketelaere went charging up the gut and what once seemed to be a vital win in an archetypal tough place to go on the continent became a fifth straight road defeat in the Champions League for Chelsea.

It need not have been that way. When Reece James powered to the byline to cross for Joao Pedro , Chelsea were entitled to feel that their foothold in the game was well earned. They had quelled the early threat of Atalanta passes in behind their full back and had built momentum. This was hardly the Blues at

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