Jose Mourinho has admitted that he does not know if Premier League champions Chelsea can bounce back from their early-season struggles and defend their title.

The Blues suffered a third defeat in five games after going down 3-1 at Everton on Saturday to confirm their worst start to a league campaign for 29 years.

Table-topping Manchester City earned a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace later in the afternoon to go 11 points clear of Chelsea, and Mourinho, whose side host third-placed Arsenal next weekend, concedes that he does not know if a title defence is still realistic.

Asked by Sky Sports News if they can still win the title, the Portuguese said: "I don't know. Chelsea can win the next match against Arsenal for sure, [but] to win the title, I don't know."

Two goals from Steven Naismith helped the Toffees into a 2-0 lead, with Nemanja Matic pulling one back before the break, but the Scottish midfielder completed his hat-trick in the second half.