Chelsea boss concedes league title race could be over with Liverpool 'impossible to catch'

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca fears that Liverpool's fast start to the season means it could be "impossible to catch them" with the Reds already enjoying a seven-point advantage over the Blues after just five fixtures.

They remain the only Premier League outfit to maintain a perfect record. Their victory in the Merseyside derby extended their flawless beginning to their title defence, but their rivals have continued to give up points in the early stages.

Liverpool have secured several dramatic late victories against Bournemouth, Newcastle and Burnley and have already beaten Arsenal. Chelsea suffered their first major blow as they were beaten at Manchester United on Saturday evening - their first loss in the league.

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Currently the champions sit five points ahead of the Gunners, seven in front of Chelsea and eight clear of Manchester City after Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta's sides drew on Sunday - and Maresca fears the gap could already be too big.

He said: "If they continue in this way I think it is impossible to catch them, not just for us, but for all the clubs. They have been doing a fantastic job since last year, and the players they have decided to buy shows the intention of the club to go again for the Premier League and the Champions League, and that is quite clear."

The Reds are pursuing back-to-back league crowns for the first time in more than 30 years and have positioned themselves ideally to achieve this feat. Their transfer business has contributed to a scorching opening whilst there are expectations for them to compete across multiple competitions.

Chelsea meanwhile, after making a return to the Champions League last term having finished fourth, invested again in the summer in a bid to get closer to the top of the table. Their last league title came under Antonio Conte in 2017.

Maresca added the likes of Joao Pedro, Liam Delap and Alejandro Garnacho to bring even more firepower into the squad and landed the Club World Cup in the summer, beating PSG in the final in New York, to underline their credentials.

The Italian delivered the Europa Conference League last season but saw his Blues side beaten in their opening Champions League outing, going down 3-1 to Bayern Munich. He is now hoping to avoid a Carabao Cup shock against League One Huddersfield.

He said: “Personally, I would prefer to play against a Premier League team rather than a League One team because these are the kind of games that worry me most because you can underestimate the opposition. It is something we need to avoid, do our job and then focus on the Premier League [against Brighton] on Saturday.”