It has taken some time for the penny to drop but at last Rafael Benitez is in tune with the Liverpool fans.

And at last hopes are stirring that Liverpool can win their first league title since 1990.

You need to be closing in on 30 to remember that last triumph and while Benitez has won the Champions League once since then and taken them to another final, the dearth of league success gnaws away at the Liverpool faithful.

Which is why the 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge, which brought to an end Chelsea's 86-match unbeaten run, was so significant.

In truth there was nothing to speak of between the sides in a match of few chances but fascinating duels.

But the one which mattered most was in the mind of Benitez.

No longer obsessed with rotation. No longer the tinkerer. No longer consumed with the obsession of Europe and the Champions League. At least not to the detriment of Liverpool's bid to add to their record of 18 league trophies.

The motivating part of that statistic, of course, is that Liverpool's great rivals Manchester United can equal that achievement this season.

That bores deep into Merseyside pride.

And you could see the determination, feel the zeal with which Liverpool went about their work, especially in a first half in which their passing was crisp and their work rate phenomenal.

Inevitably, at the heart of that was Steven Gerrard. The England midfielder could easily have been bedecked in the blue of Chelsea if he had cared more about his bank balance than the red heart which beats inside his chest.

But it would be wrong to bill this contest as a battle between Gerrard and his England colleague Frank Lampard.

They both worked tirelessly, but it was more than that.

This was the match in which Liverpool proved the Premier League is no longer a two-horse race. No more a battle between Manchester United and Chelsea until one of them pulls clear.

Much, of course, had been made of the fact that Chelsea were playing more attractive football under Luis Felipe Scolari. If not exactly Brazilian, then a brand of football which saw the full-backs at least cross the halfway line on occasions, something which happened rarely under Jose Mourinho.

And there is no doubt Scolari's Chelsea press and dominate possession for long periods. But they still tend to bludgeon their way forward, rather than slice through defences like a cheese-cutter.

Which is why, without the injured Didier Drogba, they do not pose the same physical threat. Without Michael Ballack and Michael Essien they also lack guile and imagination.

Their only scoring opportunities came in skewed shots from Deco and Ashley Cole.

By contrast Liverpool were just that bit more menacing even if their goal in the 10th minute was more hit-and-hope than a master of design, Xabi Alonso's shot from outside the area deflecting off Jose Bosingwa and giving Petr Cech no chance in the Chelsea goal.

Alonso also hit the foot of a post but the resilience of Liverpool to hang on to their lead in what is their best-ever start to a Premier League season was the relevant feature.

It is why a great home record fell. And why, although it is early days, an old force in Liverpool are promising a new era of title glory.