IT may not have carried the lusty appeal of a record-breaking triumph in the capital, but the message was similarly loud and clear. Liverpool mean business.

The manner in which Chelsea were put to the sword may have sent out a bold statement of intent but last night simply getting the job done was the most important aspect.

Liverpool got there in the end, and in doing so confirmed they can still be in the mix when the season reaches its conclusion.

Make no mistake, if the collision with Portsmouth had gone the same way as the tussle with Stoke City last month then Rafael Benitez would have been left fielding the same old questions about his team’s championship credentials.

But Steven Gerrard’s coolly converted penalty 14 minutes from time extended Liverpool’s best-ever start to a Premier League campaign as they remain three points clear of Chelsea at the top of the table.

Sure, there was a helping hand from Portsmouth midfielder Papa Bouba Diop, who inexplicably fisted clear Fabio Aurelio’s corner to leave referee Steve Tanner no option but to point to the spot.

But this was an evening when the prime objective was to ensure the momentum of Sunday’s historic victory at Stamford Bridge wasn’t immediately lost.

Last season’s title challenge floundered on an unacceptable number of home draws.

And with Liverpool having found Stoke impossible to break down the week after the defeat of champions Manchester United, Portsmouth arrived in the image of their newly-appointed manager Tony Adams; dogged, resolute and difficult to topple.

For much of the game it seemed those qualities would be enough to ensure Adams’s reign began by landing a damaging psychological blow on Benitez’s side.

Liverpool’s frustration at their inability to find a way through was never more apparent as when Xabi Alonso and Dirk Kuyt both attempted to strike the same ball and remonstrated with each other.