Chelsea may not have fond recollections of the Carling Cup, having been beaten in the final by Tottenham Hotspur last season, but it would appear that they have long banished that memory. They progressed to the fourth round, perhaps on course for a return to Wembley, with a polished and, at times, embarrassingly easy victory at Fratton Park last night.

It stretched their unbeaten start to the season to seven matches and the boast of Luiz Felipe Scolari, their manager, that he would like to win a quadruple of trophies does not seem so fanciful. To start three of the competitions — Barclays Premier League, Champions League and Carling Cup — with 4-0 wins seems to be the most emphatic signal of intent.

“Yes, I am happy,” Scolari said. “We start the three competitions with three wins. All of the competitions are important to me. Any name, we want to win it. If I didn’t think about winning, I wouldn’t have put out this team.”

For Portsmouth, the conceding of ten goals in four days, having lost 6-0 away to Manchester City on Sunday, and a 0-8 goal count against Chelsea in two meetings this season suggest problems, not least in defence. An unsure display from David James, the England goalkeeper, did not help.

Harry Redknapp, the Portsmouth manager, chose not to criticise his under-strength line-up but admitted that the goals conceded were unacceptable. “They were sloppy, scandalous,” he said. “We did OK, I couldn’t fault the effort, but Chelsea are a fantastic team. It’s very difficult to contain them.”

Redknapp, though, bridled at the suggestion that his defence had as good as gone Awol this season. “Hang on,” he said. “It’s only over the last two games. Before that, we won 3-0 away to Everton, beat Middlesbrough 2-1 here and won 2-0 against Guimarães in the Uefa Cup. It’s only the past two games that we’ve leaked goals.”

Fair point, well made. Yet the Portsmouth fans who were singing “Olé, olé” at the end, when Portsmouth put together some slick passing movements, were doing so sarcastically. Chelsea were 4-0 ahead, had switched to cruise control and, such was their dominance, seemed in danger of falling asleep on their feet.

Although Scolari made six changes to the team who had drawn 1-1 with Manchester United on Sunday, the starting XI was still liberally sprinkled with internationals. However, the duel between the Carling Cup runners-up and FA Cup winners of last season took time to warm up. There was little rhythm, no regular tempo, just a hotchpotch of mostly wasted effort.

Chelsea, who opened their Champions League group A programme with a 4-0 home win over Bordeaux last week, gradually asserted their authority and went ahead in the 36th minute. Nadir Belhadj and Michael Ballack chased the ball, the Algeria defender arrived a fraction late and the German tumbled a fraction theatrically.

Steve Bennett, the referee, ruled a penalty. “It wasn’t,” Redknapp said. “He [Ballack] left his leg there and dived.” No matter. Frank Lampard scored from the spot against Portsmouth in West London last month and, again, made no mistake, sending James the wrong way. On the stroke of half-time, Chelsea stretched their advantage when Florent Malouda sent the fiercest of right-foot drives skidding past James.

It looked grim for Portsmouth. Grim became impossible four minutes into the second half, when Salomon Kalou crossed from the right and James, flapping, could only divert it against Lampard’s left thigh. The ball rebounded and, as time seemed to stand still, trickled in. Bennett almost apologetically signalled the goal.

“It was a joke goal,” Redknapp said. “But I don’t want to name individuals.” Portsmouth’s display got worse, when Kalou guided past James after Sylvain Distin’s error, and Redknapp quickly consigned it to the dustbin. “Tonight’s history, we move on,” he said. And Chelsea move on to the improbable quadruple.

Portsmouth (4-1-4-1): D James — G Johnson, N Pamarot, S Distin, H Hreidarsson — Y Kaboul — J Utaka, R Hughes (sub: M Wilson, 80min), A Mvuemba, N Belhadj (sub: A Traoré, 69) — P Crouch (sub: Kanu, 69). Substitutes not used: J Ashdown, J Defoe, G Little, D Traoré. Booked: Hreidarsson, Hughes, Johnson.

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): P Cech — B Ivanovic, Alex, J Terry, W Bridge — J Belletti — S Kalou, M Ballack (sub: P Ferreira, 69), F Lampard (sub: S Sinclair, 74), F Malouda — D Drogba (sub: F Di Santo, 80). Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, J O Mikel, M Mancienne, M Stoch. Booked: Ballack.

Referee: S Bennett.

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