Jose Mourinho has warned his Chelsea players that they are facing the moment of truth in their title bid.

Manchester City's 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace last night means Chelsea need just 15 points from their last eight matches to lift the trophy for the first time since 2010.

However, while the defending champions are struggling, Arsenal and Manchester United are now Chelsea's closest challengers having won seven and five League games in a row respectively.

Both teams play Chelsea later this month, but Mourinho is confident his players can cope with the pressure.

He said: "Mentality is important because now is the moment where everything is decided for everything - for relegation, the Champions League places and the title.

"You can do amazingly well for seven, eight, nine months but the moment of truth always arrives and the moment of truth for us is get the wins we need to be champions.

"So to be mentally strong, but at the same time be comfortable with the situation, is very important.

"I think people are comfortable. I look at them (the players) and see people who are comfortable and relaxed to play these last two months."

Only six members of the current squad have won the title with Chelsea before, but that includes Nemanja Matic who made just two substitute appearances in the 2010 triumph.

Player Ratings: Chelsea v Stoke City 20 show all Player Ratings: Chelsea v Stoke City 1/20 Thibaut Courtois: 5 Barely made a save before being made to look a little silly by Adam’s sublime strike. Idle thereafter, too. GETTY 2/20 Branislav Ivanovic: 7 Spent most of the game in the Stoke half, and was not tested defensively. 3/20 Gary Cahill: 6 Not tested, at all, due to Stoke’s lack of attacking ambition. Good with the ball at his feet. 4/20 John Terry: 6 The captain has and will have harder tests of his strength than that posed by Mame Diouf. As with Cahill, let off lightly by a blunt Stoke attack. GETTY 5/20 Nemanja Matic: 7 Clumsy early on, but was not really needed for his defensive qualities. Played further forward to good effect as Chelsea sought a winner. GETTY 6/20 Cesc Fabregas: 8 Slowly getting back to his early-season form. Clever interplay won the penalty, and he was a slick presence throughout. 7/20 Willian: 8 Combined well with Hazard on the Chelsea left, and was instrumental in winning the ball back for the second goal. 8/20 Eden Hazard: 9 Bright and inventive. Ran at the Stoke defence early on but shooting wayward. Forced Begovic into several fine second-half saves, and set up the second goal with a bewitching run. GETTY 9/20 Loic Remy: 8 Always looked a threat, and a more mobile option than Costa. Deflected shot was well saved early on, before he was in the right place for a simple finish. Getty 10/20 Diego Costa: N/A Came on at half time, but was removed shortly afterwards following yet another hamstring twinge. 11/20 Geoff Cameron: 3 Had a torrid afternoon with Hazard constantly bearing down on him, and unable to contribute much in the Chelsea half. Getty 12/20 Ryan Shawcross: 6 Booked on the half hour for hauling down Remy. Solid enough thereafter, and little he could do when Hazard drew him out for Remy’s goal. Getty 13/20 Philipp Wollscheid: 5 Gave away the penalty with a clumsy challenge on Fabregas, but nevertheless, along with the unused Marc Muniesa, he looks a canny buy by Mark Hughes. Getty 14/20 Marc Wilson: 7 Stood up well to the Chelsea threat, and was not at fault for either of the goals. Getty 15/20 Stephen Ireland: 5 Not able to influence the game in an attacking sense. Perhaps lucky not to be booked for persistent fouling, including a poor challenge on Ireland. Getty 16/20 Glenn Whelan: 7 Booked in the first half for a tackle on Fabregas. As bity and niggly as ever, he did a decent job of keeping the Chelsea waves at bay. Getty 17/20 Steven N'Zonzi: 8 Impressive. Hard-working as ever and produced a lovely, curled effort on 27 minutes that had Courtois beaten but sailed just over the bar. Getty 18/20 Charlie Adam: 8 Only scored one of the best goals of all time, and at a crucial time, to pull Stoke back into the game. Getty 19/20 Jonathan Walters: 4 Like the rest of the Stoke forward line, his effort was exemplary. But his technical ability, or lack of it, is exposed against high-level opposition. Getty 20/20 Mame Biram Diouf: 4 Struggled to hold the ball up, and did not have no much as a sniff of a chance. His defensive work was manful, however. Getty 1/20 Thibaut Courtois: 5 Barely made a save before being made to look a little silly by Adam’s sublime strike. Idle thereafter, too. GETTY 2/20 Branislav Ivanovic: 7 Spent most of the game in the Stoke half, and was not tested defensively. 3/20 Gary Cahill: 6 Not tested, at all, due to Stoke’s lack of attacking ambition. Good with the ball at his feet. 4/20 John Terry: 6 The captain has and will have harder tests of his strength than that posed by Mame Diouf. As with Cahill, let off lightly by a blunt Stoke attack. GETTY 5/20 Nemanja Matic: 7 Clumsy early on, but was not really needed for his defensive qualities. Played further forward to good effect as Chelsea sought a winner. GETTY 6/20 Cesc Fabregas: 8 Slowly getting back to his early-season form. Clever interplay won the penalty, and he was a slick presence throughout. 7/20 Willian: 8 Combined well with Hazard on the Chelsea left, and was instrumental in winning the ball back for the second goal. 8/20 Eden Hazard: 9 Bright and inventive. Ran at the Stoke defence early on but shooting wayward. Forced Begovic into several fine second-half saves, and set up the second goal with a bewitching run. GETTY 9/20 Loic Remy: 8 Always looked a threat, and a more mobile option than Costa. Deflected shot was well saved early on, before he was in the right place for a simple finish. Getty 10/20 Diego Costa: N/A Came on at half time, but was removed shortly afterwards following yet another hamstring twinge. 11/20 Geoff Cameron: 3 Had a torrid afternoon with Hazard constantly bearing down on him, and unable to contribute much in the Chelsea half. Getty 12/20 Ryan Shawcross: 6 Booked on the half hour for hauling down Remy. Solid enough thereafter, and little he could do when Hazard drew him out for Remy’s goal. Getty 13/20 Philipp Wollscheid: 5 Gave away the penalty with a clumsy challenge on Fabregas, but nevertheless, along with the unused Marc Muniesa, he looks a canny buy by Mark Hughes. Getty 14/20 Marc Wilson: 7 Stood up well to the Chelsea threat, and was not at fault for either of the goals. Getty 15/20 Stephen Ireland: 5 Not able to influence the game in an attacking sense. Perhaps lucky not to be booked for persistent fouling, including a poor challenge on Ireland. Getty 16/20 Glenn Whelan: 7 Booked in the first half for a tackle on Fabregas. As bity and niggly as ever, he did a decent job of keeping the Chelsea waves at bay. Getty 17/20 Steven N'Zonzi: 8 Impressive. Hard-working as ever and produced a lovely, curled effort on 27 minutes that had Courtois beaten but sailed just over the bar. Getty 18/20 Charlie Adam: 8 Only scored one of the best goals of all time, and at a crucial time, to pull Stoke back into the game. Getty 19/20 Jonathan Walters: 4 Like the rest of the Stoke forward line, his effort was exemplary. But his technical ability, or lack of it, is exposed against high-level opposition. Getty 20/20 Mame Biram Diouf: 4 Struggled to hold the ball up, and did not have no much as a sniff of a chance. His defensive work was manful, however. Getty

While Mourinho is delighted to still have a few veterans from previous successful campaigns like John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic and Didier Drogba around to help, he doesn't see the lack of winners in his dressing room as a weakness.

He added: "I always think experience is a positive thing in life and in particularly football. For them (Terry, Drogba, Petr Cech, Ivanovic, John Obi Mikel) it is deja vu.

"For the others it is a new emotion for them. But it is a good new experience for them. To fight for the title is the best motivation you can have in the game."