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Chelsea are finding it more difficult in the Premier League this season because winning the title is a "virus," according to former midfielder Gus Poyet. Antonio Conte's men lie nine points adrift of rampant leaders Manchester City after just 11 matches, having lost three times -- as they did in the whole of last season in the Premier League, when they claimed the title by seven points from London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Poyet says Chelsea's recent history shows that becoming champions can have an adverse effect on the squad, not least because every other team in the Premier League is even more motivated to beat them. "Winning the title, it's a virus," Poyet told the Evening Standard. "After you win it the next year something goes wrong for [Jose] Mourinho, [Carlo] Ancelotti and Conte [at Chelsea]. It's tough and when you're champions everyone wants to kill you. "For Chelsea it was a very strange summer, a mess inside the club. The [Diego] Costa situation was tough and so was replacing him. The new players need time to adapt and prove themselves. "Last year, with all respect to the squad players, the team was [stable]. This year you make one team, I make one team, he makes one team, Conte makes another team. That consistency is why they won the league... not just of selection but formation and style of play." Chelsea's title defence has also been undermined by injuries to key players. Eden Hazard had to be eased into action after missing preseason with a broken ankle, while N'Golo Kante was sidelined for all six of the Blues' matches in October with a hamstring injury, returning in a 1-0 win over Manchester United just before the international break. "They missed him a lot, you could see how much the minute he came back," Poyet said of Kante. "He's easily the best central midfielder in the world. Easily. He would play in a World XI, no doubt. I know there are players like Casemiro, Sergio Busquets but he's better than them. "He knows the game, when to stay, when to run and how to run well. He reads it so well he knows what is going to happen before he gets there. That way he controls it with his incredible power and finesse. Normally players like that aren't as good on the ball as Kante is. "It's incredible that he went to Leicester and nobody saw him until they won the league! You do what you do, managers do what they do, but how didn't any scouts see him?"
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