Antonio Conte conceded that Tottenham Hotspur are currently the best team in the Premier League and claimed that Chelsea now only have a “50 per cent” chance of winning the title.

Following the defeat to Manchester United that cut Chelsea’s lead to four points Conte also blamed himself for failing to motivate his players – but insisted it would still be a “miracle” if they were crowned champions this season having finished 10ththe season before.

“I think Tottenham now are the best team, they are in good form and have a lot of enthusiasm. They are feeling the possibility to write history,” Conte said as he castigated himself for Chelsea’s performance. “I think we didn’t play a good game and United deserved to win the game because they showed more desire, motivation and ambition,” he said. “It’s very simple. But in this case the fault is the coach because it means the coach was not able to inspire the right motivation, the right ambition to win.”

Chelsea have lost two of their last four matches – having been beaten at home by Crystal Palace. “I think we lost two games but these two games were totally different,” Conte added. “Against Crystal Palace we didn’t deserve to lose. Today we deserved to lose. We have to think there are six finals (the final six league games) from now until the end. The league is open and we have 50 per cent probability to win the league. We must know this.”