Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca believes it may be "impossible" for anyone to catch Liverpool in the Premier League title race this season.

The Reds have begun their title defence in style, winning all five of their matches so far – making them the only team with a 100% record – and have a five-point cushion at the top of the table.

Liverpool bolstered their squad during the transfer window, bringing in the likes of Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak in big-money moves.

Meanwhile, Chelsea, who want to build on their Conference League and Club World Cup successes, are already seven points behind Liverpool.

They let a lead slip in a 2-2 draw with Brentford before losing 2-1 to Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday, suffering their first league defeat of the campaign.

Before the start of the season, Chelsea were given an outside chance of winning the title by the Opta supercomputer, as they won 8.3% of the pre-season simulations.

Those chances have now dropped to just 3.1%, and Maresca acknowledged that Liverpool's squad strength is likely to carry them to the trophy once again.

"If they continue in this way, I think it is impossible to catch them, not just for us, but for all the clubs.

"They have been doing a fantastic job since last year, and the players they have decided to buy shows the intention of the club to go again for the Premier League and the Champions League, and that is quite clear."

Chelsea are winless in three matches in all competitions (D1 L2) heading into their EFL Cup third-round tie away at Lincoln City on Tuesday.