Luiz Felipe Scolari has been so successful in making Chelsea loved again that even neutrals have enjoyed watching them this season – perhaps for the first time since Gianluca Vialli’s free-flowing side were winning cup competitions almost a decade ago – but he was not supposed to make them popular with their opponents too. The Brazilian may want to consult the fine print of his contract.

“It has not finished the world,” Scolari said of this defeat in his endearingly erratic English, even if this country’s footballing landscape does look slightly different this morning.

Given the adventurous way that they now play, it is difficult to see another 86 league matches elapsing until Chelsea are beaten again in their own stadium, which must be a galling thought for the players, many of whom have not known defeat while wearing a blue shirt. John Terry and Frank Lampard are the only survivors from Chelsea’s previous home league defeat – a 2-1 loss to Arsène Wenger’s Invincible Arsenal in February 2004, dated even more by the presence of Neil Sullivan in the home goal.

Rafael BenÍtez, the Liverpool manager, deserves immense credit for devising a game plan that will secure him a small place in the history books, and even more so for his uncharacteristic willingness to disclose it afterwards. The statistics show that it was no fluke either, as BenÍtez’s record of six wins and six draws from 21 matches against Chelsea is better than that of any other manager during the same period.

“Chelsea have full backs going forward all of the time, but we demonstrated you can go forward and create something,” BenÍtez said. “They will have problems behind their defenders because they go forward all the time.”

Liverpool were able to turn Chelsea’s greatest strength into their weakness, with Albert Riera and Dirk Kuyt pushing José Bosingwa and Ashley Cole farther back than they have been all season and creating space for Steven Gerrard to roam behind Robbie Keane.

It helped that in Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso, Liverpool possess the securest sentries in the Premier League – how Arsenal could do with just one of them – and they succeeded in keeping Lampard and Deco unusually subdued. It almost goes without saying that Jamie Carragher was a rock at the back, making one incredible tackle on Deco in the 76th minute when José Manuel Reina was exposed.

BenÍtez’s other salient comment was one of his simplest – “I prefer to score first” – with Alonso’s tenth-minute goal setting the tone for the entire game. Álvaro Arbeloa’s throw-in was flicked on by Kuyt, with Terry’s header falling to Alonso, who beat Petr Cech from 20 yards with the aid of a deflection off Bosingwa.

Chelsea chased the game with little success, and for all their neat passing in midfield, Reina remained untroubled. Other than commanding his area at crosses, the Spain goalkeeper was not required to make a save of note, although he would have been relieved to see Ashley Cole volley wide from close range in the 73rd minute after Franco Di Santo, the substitute, had headed down a great ball from Lampard. Liverpool could have extended their lead, though, with Alonso hitting the foot of the post with a superb free kick and Ryan Babel shooting narrowly wide after a great turn on the edge of the area.

Scolari conceded that Chelsea had been toothless in the final third, but failed to highlight the obvious cause. Nicolas Anelka was anonymous, providing further evidence that he lacks the spirit for a true fight, as well as the ability to lead the line on his own. Didier Drogba’s return from injury cannot come soon enough, while, given their lack of options on the bench, Peter Kenyon’s comments last week about Chelsea not making any signings in January look premature. Reinforcements are required.

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): P Cech 6 J Bosingwa 6 R Carvalho 6 J Terry 6 A Cole 5 J Obi Mikel 7 S Kalou 5 Deco 5 F Lampard 6 F Malouda 4 N Anelka 4 Substitutes S Sinclair (for Boswinga, 85min), F Di Santo 6 (for Kalou, 58), J Belletti (for Malouda, 58). Not used C Cudicini, B Ivanovic, P Ferreira, Alex. Next: Hull City (a)

Liverpool (4-2-3-1): J Reina 6 A Arbeloa 6 J Carragher 8 D Agger 7 F Aurélio 6 J Mascherano 7 Xabi Alonso 8 D Kuyt 7 S Gerrard 7 A Reira 7 R Keane 6 Substitutes R Babel (for Keane. 60min 6) Lucas Leiva (for Kuyt, 88), S Hyypia (for Reira, 90). Not used D Cavalieri, A Dossena, Y Benayoun, J Pennant. Next: Portsmouth (h)

Referee H Webb Attendance 41,705

Chelsea v Liverpool in numbers

86 Chelsea’s unbeaten home league run, which ended yesterday

63 Previous longest undefeated home league run, by Liverpool, 1978-81

3 Changes of Chelsea manager since last home league defeat by Arsenal in February 2004

14 Chelsea away league defeats during their unbeaten home sequence