Joao Pedro tells Chelsea stars what they must do to bounce back from Champions League blow

The forward put the Blues ahead in the first half before Atalanta battled back to secure a 2-1 win

Joao Pedro has warned his Chelsea team-mates that they cannot lose focus in the UEFA Champions League after they slipped to a 2-1 loss at Atalanta on Tuesday night.

The Brazilian forward gave the Blues the lead in the first half after converting a precise Reece James cross. However, the home side came on strong after the interval and were able to fight back; goals from Gianluca Scamacca and Charles De Ketelaere gave the Italians a vital win.

The loss leaves Chelsea in a battle to qualify for the last-16 without going through the playoffs. They are now down in 11th in the competition standings and need to get into the top eight to avoid two extra games in the new year.

Speaking after the game to the club’s in-house media, Pedro gave an honest assessment of the team’s performance and especially the difficult second half.

“We are disappointed because we came here to win the game,’ the 24-year-old said. “We started well and scored first, but in the Champions League, if you give chances to the opponents, if they can score, it makes it a difficult game because they are a strong team.

“I think the first half we controlled the game, we started well, and we had chances to score more. I think for 10 minutes in the second half, when they scored, they had the home support behind them, which helped them.

“In the Champions League, if you concede one goal early [in the second half] and a second goal, it is difficult to come back. We need to learn because we are disappointed, and we have to be focused on the next game.”

Chelsea appeared to be finding their groove when they beat Barcelona 3-0 at the end of last month, but the team have suffered some frustrating results since.

After a 0-0 home draw with Arsenal they were poor in a 3-1 defeat at Leeds United and were held to a stalemate again away at AFC Bournemouth.

Head coach Enzo Maresca is expecting to make changes to the team when an in-form Everton team visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Cole Palmer was rested for the trip to Atalanta, while Estevao was not brought off the bench in Bergamo. It would suggest both will be involved from the start for this weekend’s game.

As for Pedro, he looks set to be the spearhead in attack for Chelsea during much of the Christmas period. Fellow forward Liam Delap is set to miss four weeks of action after he picked up a shoulder injury against Bournemouth.