Rio Ferdinand claims Chelsea's win leaves title race 'completely and mentally' over

The Blues are seven points clear of second-placed Tottenham

The Blues bounced back from Saturday's defeat to Crystal Palace (Getty)

Rio Ferdinand has called time on the Premier League title race, claiming Chelsea’s win over Manchester City has left it “completely and mentally” over.

Eden Hazard inspired Antonio Conte’s side to a 2-1 win over City at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night as Chelsea bounced back from their shock defeat to Crystal Palace on the weekend.

That mean they restored their lead to seven points after Tottenham scored three times in the last six minutes to turn defeat into victory against Swansea.

And despite Spurs’ turnaround, former Manchester United defender Ferdinand insists any discussion over where the title may end up in May has now been put to bed.

“Completely and mentally (the race is over). Against Crystal Palace you thought about a little wobble but this was a well thought-out performance,” he said on BT Sport.

“Eden Hazard was exceptional tonight. This is the end of it. They'll go on now and continue to take points off everyone.”

Ferdinand has put Chelsea’s success this season down to Conte’s meticulous training methods and the level of intensity he demands from each of his players.

“What I’ve heard is Conte is so demanding of the players in terms of tactical awareness,” he added. “He’s on the training ground doing repetition, repetition, repetition.

“When players come to games on a Saturday, to midweek, they can do this with their eyes closed. They’ve seen it day in, day out at the training ground.

“It can get boring. But when it comes to game-time, when they’re confident and they’re winning, it comes into play.”