In the end, this was a result to be savoured only in Rome. Chelsea, held at home, had allowed leadership of the group to slip through their fingers at the last and, if the implications of finishing runners-up will only become clear after Monday’s draw, the potential of a collision with Paris Saint-Germain or Barcelona in the knockout stage looms large. Yet for Atlético Madrid, the significance of another fruitless slog is far more serious.

Chelsea 1-1 Atlético Madrid: Champions League – as it happened Read more

The Europa League awaits Diego Simeone and his side, those heady memories of being finalists on the grander stage in 2014 and 2016 fading for all that their vociferous travelling support was still bellowing their defiance into the night sky long after the final whistle. This team may not have lost in any competition since Chelsea triumphed in stoppage time at the Estadio Metropolitano in September, but their campaign has been littered with wasteful draws. In truth, this was not one of them. Their lead on the night had always felt flimsy and they might well have been beaten, such were the opportunities passed up by Chelsea in the latter stages in particular.

Simeone turned swiftly on his heels at the end, disappearing down the tunnel in his frustration, while Chelsea players, just as exasperated, pondered quite how they had failed to secure the victory which would have secured Group C and rendered Roma’s victory over Qarabag irrelevant. “We more than deserved the win, and had some fantastic chances, particularly in that second half,” said Gary Cahill. “How have we not won it? We should have won...” The defender had been flanked by Eden Hazard, the game’s outstanding performer, in the tunnel as he voiced that disbelief to the television cameras. The Belgian at his side merely shrugged and, with a hint of a wink, reminded his captain: “We are a top side, we are Chelsea, we can still do everything.”

That belief will remain regardless of who awaits in the new year. It had been Hazard who had choked Atlético’s brief surge of belief here, collecting Cesc Fàbregas’ deep cross on the left corner of the penalty area 15 minutes from time before fizzing a low shot across goal which Stefan Savic inadvertently deflected beyond the excellent Jan Oblak. The visitors would have been aware by then that Roma, second at the start of play, were leading at the Stadio Olimpico courtesy of Diego Perotti’s goal, nullifying their advantage and effectively eliminating them from the competition. They remain a team undone by those inexplicable failures to beat Qarabag home or away.

With the puff having been knocked out of the visitors, the procession of chances in the frantic finale all fell to the Premier League team. Oblak, a goalkeeper “on fire” according to Hazard, had thwarted Álvaro Morata in front of goal as the striker prepared to convert Fàbregas’ square pass, then watched the substitute, Willian, undone by an untimely bobble to slice horribly high and wide as the goal gaped. When Chelsea had been trailing, it had taken Oblak and José Maria Giménez to thwart Morata’s attempt to stab a loose ball into the net from virtually on the goal-line. The approach play from Victor Moses and clever flick from Pedro in the build-up deserved better.

Davide Zappacosta, an uncomfortable makeshift left wing-back, and Morata had drawn splendid saves form the Slovenian international during a one-sided first half, while Hazard, tormenting Savic and Lucas Hernández, was a constant menace, maintaining the form which has illuminated the Premier League of late. All-comers will fear his impact in the knockout stages when the prospect of playing Chelsea, as Antonio Conte made clear, will hardly fill any of their prospective opponents with optimism, even if PSG have eliminated the London club in their last two ventures in the competition and Barcelona top La Liga. Either Sevilla, if they win their group, or Besiktas might be more appealing but, in reality, any tie should be cherished. The alternative, as Simeone, Atlético and Diego Costa would testify, can feel rather deflating.

The visitors had only really prospered in one brief period amid incessant Chelsea pressure just before the hour-mark. Filipe Luís suddenly planted a left-footed shot on to the post from distance, with Thibaut Courtois doing well to spring up, dive and claim Koke’s diving header from the rebound. Then a corner by Koke was flicked on by Fernando Torres, on his first return to the club with whom he had claimed a European Cup, with the ball looping to Saúl Ñíguez, escaping Tiemoué Bakayoko’s attentions at the far post, to nod unchallenged into the net. Conte was pained by the ease his team had been infiltrated.

Yet, once the hosts had rallied, the real pain was Atlético’s. “It hurts, and we’ve actually managed to get more points from the team who finished top of the group than the one who finished bottom,” added Simeone. “But no excuses. This is not a failure. It’s just a new challenge.” That was hugely positive spin. The test lying ahead for Chelsea is more mouth-watering.

Rapid-fire Manchester United hit back to beat CSKA and clinch top spot Read more