The Blues travel to Bergamo on matchday six in our last Champions League fixture before Christmas. It will be our first ever game against Atalanta, and our first in Italy since we beat AC Milan 2-0 in October 2022.

Here is everything you need to know about Atalanta…

Factfile

Full name: Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio
Country: Italy
City: Bergamo
Formation: 1907
Major honours: Europa League (2024), Coppa Italia (1963)

Head coach: Ivan Juric
2024/25 league finish: 3rd
Stadium: Stadio di Bergamo
Colours: Black and blue
Nickname:La Dea (The Goddess)
Rivals: Brescia

Champions League history

This is Atalanta’s fifth season in the Champions League, all since 2019. They have played English opposition in each of the previous four campaigns, earning draws against Manchester City (2019), Manchester United (2022) and Arsenal (2024), and beating Liverpool at Anfield in 2020.

They reached the quarter-finals in 2020, beaten 2-1 by PSG in the pandemic-affected finale to that tournament. Last season, they were knocked out by Club Bruges in the play-off round after finishing ninth in the league phase.

2024/25 season

Alongside those European exploits, which included a 2-2 draw away to Barcelona, Atalanta finished third in Serie A and reached the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia.

Striker Mateo Retegui finished as the top goalscorer in the league with 25 goals, but has since departed to Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah. Longstanding head coach Gian Piero Gasperini also left the club after nine years in charge. He has taken over at Roma.

2025/26 season so far…

Under the new management of Ivan Juric, Atalanta have started the season with a pair of 1-1 draws, at home to Pisa and away to Parma.

Current squad

The most notable faces to Chelsea supporters are former Blues Davide Zappacosta and Mario Pasalic. The Croatian has scored 60 goals in 300 appearances for the club, while Zappacosta is starting his fifth consecutive season in what is his third spell at the club.

Nigerian international and 2024 Europa League final hat-trick hero Ademola Lookman was heavily linked with a move away over the summer, but has stayed. Striker Gianluca Scamacca, once of West Ham, is an Italy international.

Notable former players

Some famous Italian strikers have passed through the club, usually early in their careers on their way to great heights. They include Christian Vieri, Filippo Inzaghi and Giampaolo Pazzini.

More recently, the likes of Franck Kessie, Dejan Kulusevski, Duvan Zapata and Papu Gomez have all donned the black and blue, although under Gasperini, it was the collective unity that made them such a good team, rather than relying on individual stars.

Previous Champions League meetings

None.