Liverpool End Chelsea's 86-Game Home Unbeaten Run

Ding dong, Chelsea's streak is dead.

Thanks to a deflected shot by Xabi Alonso in the 10th minute off Jose Bosingwa, Liverpool topped Chelsea 1-0 Sunday morning at Stamford Bridge to end the Blue impressive 86-game home unbeaten streak.

Chelsea's last defeat at Stamford Bridge was in February 21, 2004 to Arsenal.

To put it in perspective, that's six months before anyone knew what "Lost" was. In that time the Red Sox have won two World Series. It's the same month Kanye West released his first album and since then has sold over 12 units worldwide.

For more perspective, the previous English record had been 63 matches held set by Liverpool from 1978-80. Chelsea might be unlikeable, but they absolutely owned this record.

It was a fitting way for the record to end, too. Liverpool and Chelsea had played 20 times over the last four seasons in all competitions. Sunday, it was a pairing of the two teams atop the Premier League. So yeah, stakes were high.Chelsea fans could bemoan the fact that Alonso scored via a deflection off a botched clearance. Yet, factor in how many times a guy like Frank Lampard has broken another team's hear with a pin-balling goal off multiple players. Both teams were without star strikers -- Chelsea didn't have Didier Drogba; Liverpool was without Fernando Torres.

New Chelsea boss Phil Scolari certainly drank a wine made from sour grapes after the game, but can you blame him? Even the haplessly maligned Avram Grant didn't lose a home match in oft mocked post-Mourinho reign last season.

"The result was not expected, but we have to understand that Liverpool is a very good team and they didn't play better us but shot one ball better than us and won," Scolari said. "They play eight players defensively and give no space to work the ball."

Though Chelsea might have had the better of the play in the first half, the front line of Niclas Anelka, Salomon Kalou and Flourent Malouda could find a way through the Liverpool defense. Reds keeper Pepe Reina made sure to clean up the scraps. It was a neat, tidy performance for Liverpool, reminiscent of a European night, not a Premier League afternoon. For certain, Liverpool are serious about wining their first league title in the Premier League era. The only thing missing for Liverpool was a Steven Gerrard goal, and he came close with an audacious left-foot volley attempt that Petr Cech tipped over the bar.

Perhaps the most amazing development as a result of this game is that Chelsea is now tied for second-place with promoted Hull City.