England and Chelsea defender Gary Cahill (Picture: Getty)

Gary Cahill says the Chelsea squad realise it will be ‘very difficult’ to defend the Premier League title this season.

The Blues won the league by seven points last term but appear set for a sterner challenge during the 2017-18 campaign.

Both Manchester clubs have enjoyed scintillating starts to the new season and Pep Guardiola’s City earned a convincing victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

The result leaves Antonio Conte’s side six points behind the league leaders heading into the international break and Cahill acknowledges Chelsea’s title rivals are looking strong.

‘They are setting the pace at the top of the league at the moment, as are Manchester United,’ England defender Cahill told Chelsea’s official website.

The Blues were beaten by Manchester City on Saturday (Picture: Getty)
Kevin de Bruyne’s fantastic strike earned the three points (Picture: Getty)

‘They’re both getting very good results and scoring a lot of goals, but let’s see.

‘We’re in September, so let’s get to Christmas, January time – hopefully we’ll be in and around the top and then we’ll see from there.

‘We’re experienced in it, but it’s disappointing to lose points here against Manchester City.’

Cahill, 31, added: ‘We proved last season we’ve got enough to win the league, but we realise it’s very difficult.

‘We’ve done it twice since I’ve been here and both times it’s been extremely difficult. Look at the strength of the teams around us, but it’s just important that we fight to the end.’

Antonio Conte’s side were outplayed at Stamford Bridge (Picture: Getty)

Chelsea had been in fine form going into the clash against City, beating Atletico Madrid in the Champions League after winning six of their last seven games in all competitions.

And Cahill admitted he expected a better performance from the Blues, who were eventually outdone by a superb second-half strike from Kevin De Bruyne.

He said: ‘Of course it’s disappointing. I thought we’d play much better, especially at home so overall it was a disappointing afternoon for us.

‘Obviously we have lost points but also I don’t think the performance was up to our usual standard.

Gary Cahill was surprised by Chelsea’s performance (Picture: Getty)

‘We didn’t play as well as we can do or as well as we have been doing, but credit to them, they made it very difficult for us.

‘It was a tough fixture for us to play, especially after coming back at four o’clock in the morning on Thursday. It’s not an excuse but it’s a factor.

‘We worked very hard for each other but we were a fraction off it and they were very, very good. Last season we were very confident playing at home so we will look to get back to that.’

Following the international break, Chelsea travel to Selhurst Park to take on bottom-placed Crystal Palace before facing Rome in the Champions League.

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