This season’s Chelsea team is even better than the previous Premier League-winning side put together by Jose Mourinho.

That is the opinion of Ricardo Carvalho, who played in the 2005 side which lost only one game on its way to winning the title.

Chelsea currently sit top of the Premier League, with a five-point gap on closest chasers Manchester United and a superior goal difference to all the other top four teams.

They have conceded only eight goals in their first 14 games and are also through to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Carvalho reckons this side under Carlo Ancelotti is certainly an improvement on the one put together in Mourinho’s first season in charge.

“Then we were compact and everyone was fighting, but now I think we have more quality in the squad maybe. Or at least different players, playing in a different system and style,” the Portuguese defender told the club’s official website.

“Things are good for everyone. We are playing well and not conceding goals."

Ancelotti recently came out and said he was pinning his hopes on Chelsea to win both the Premier League and the Champions League.

He added he was more than happy with the current squad at Stamford Bridge and might not bring in any new faces during the January transfer window.