Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez wants to delay talk of a Premier League title challenge until after the festive fixtures.

The Blues recorded a thumping 8-0 win against Aston Villa on Sunday to move to within 11 points of first-place Manchester United.

While that is a considerable deficit, Benitez has hinted that Chelsea still may fight for honours if they can put together a consistent run of form over Christmas.

"We will see after two or three more games. You could see the team had confidence in themselves, they believed, and that was there to the end," he said.

"They had good movements, created chances. Now we have to sustain this run and it will be easier for me to say we can compete."

Chelsea travel to Norwich City on Boxing Day before a trip to Champions League-chasers Everton this coming weekend.