Eden Hazard speaks on Chelsea's title hopes

Belgium international Eden Hazard has refused to rule out Chelsea's chances of retaining the Premier League title this campaign.

The reigning champions sealed a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday evening with Hazard scoring the winner early in the second-half.

Despite the victory, the Blues still find themselves nine points behind table-toppers Manchester City, who have dropped just two points in the first two-and-a-half months of the campaign.

Antonio Conte's side secured just their first clean sheet in seven attempts, and Hazard spoke about the importance of the shutout while insisting that the Blues are still in the title hunt.

"We created a lot of chances... we didn't score, that's the problem, but we have three points and we move on," he told reporters, as per ESPN.

"I think Thibaut needed this [result] for the confidence, but I think all the team deserve this, we did well defensively, offensively also. 

"The season is long, you never know what can happen. They are top and play well with a lot of goals... but we have a lot of games to play, we will see at the end of the season."

Chelsea make the visit to the Italian capital to take on AS Roma on Tuesday night after which they have a crunch home fixture against rivals Manchester United in the top-flight.

No side has successfully defended the English crown since the Red Devils back in 2009, and the Blues face a difficult challenge forward as they can not risk losing any points - especially at Stamford Bridge.