Antonio Conte speaks on Man United's strong start to the season

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has admitted that it is 'normal' for Manchester United to be competing for the English crown, although he hopes that his side can defend the Premier League title this season.

The Red Devils are currently joint top with Manchester City with 13 points after securing four wins and a draw in their opening five league games.

On the other hand, Chelsea are just behind them in third place with 10 points after they settled for a goalless draw against Arsenal in their previous outing.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, the Blues manager spoke about the situation of both Manchester clubs and admits that they are in a good shape to fight for the title.

The Italian added that the competition is always tough in the top-flight, but he is hoping that the Blues maintain their challenge in order to retain their crown.

“It’s normal for United and City to be competitive and to fight for the title and the other competitions. It’s normal.We have to stay there and try and do our best. At the end of the season, we’ll see what happens," he is quoted as saying by ESPN.

“You know very well the difficulty of this league, to win this league. Last season we did this. But, for sure, we want to try and fight until the end [again].”

The Blues are likely to face a strong test of their title credentials at Stoke City this weekend with Mark Hughes' side having previously secured points over both Manchester United and Arsenal this term.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have progressed to the fourth round of the League Cup following last night's resounding 5-1 win over Championship side Nottingham Forest.