“I thought United would have a chance at the start of the season,” Neville told Omnisport.

“But when Diego Costa and Eden Hazard turned up and they corrected their defensive problems by going three at the back, it became pretty apparent quickly that the old Chelsea were back.

“There’s a lot of Premier League winners in that Chelsea team. The issue has been you don’t know which Chelsea will turn up from one season from the next. Once the real Costa and Hazard turned up and you had David Luiz in defence and N’Golo Kante in midfield, you have a championship-winning team, or the makings of one.

“The challenge at United was probably bigger than what everyone thought,”

“When I look at it now, I don’t think anyone could’ve won the league with United this season.

“There is still a bit to go. Chelsea still have some work to do. It won’t be as comfortable as we think, because there might be some dropped points in the next few weeks.”