LONDON, England -- Chelsea's title race is already over, according to Antonio Conte after Chelsea's surprise 1-0 defeat to West Ham United on Saturday afternoon. In fact, he continued, it never really started.

"This is the fourth defeat this season in 16 games," said Conte. "When you have this start, it's impossible to think you are in the title race. From experience, if you want to stay in the title race, in the first part of the season you can lose only once or twice."

It was an understandable concession. Chelsea are 11 points behind Manchester City ahead of tomorrow's Manchester derby, and more to the point, they're not playing well enough to suggest they might overturn that deficit. But in truth, Chelsea's season has been far from disastrous.

Amassing 32 points from 16 games is perfectly respectable: two-points-per-game is usually enough to keep a side in the title hunt at this stage of the season. Unfortunately for Conte and Chelsea, Manchester City have taken 43 points from 15 matches so far this season, a figure that, if sustained, would mean a record points haul in the Premier League. The competition at the top of the league this season is fierce, and Chelsea simply don't quite have enough to properly compete.

The question, of course, is why.