by Neil Weld
Pompey were dealing with Liverpool’s attacking threat at Anfield.
But then came seven minutes of madness that effectively ended the game as a contest.
A poor clearance from Jamie Ashdown – deputising for the injured David James – allowed Fernando Torres to open the scoring on 26 minutes
Pompey then fell to pieces with goals from Ryan Babel and Alberto Aquilani following in quick succession.
Torres added a second late in the game, although Nadir Belhadj did pull one back for the Blues at the death.
Avram Grant was disappointed at the way his side capitulated after conceding the opening goal but refused to blame Ashdown.
“We lost the game in a seven-minute spell,” said the Blues boss. “We lost our shape like we did at Manchester United last month.
“Jamie is a very good second goalkeeper for us even though he made a mistake. He’s been good for us in the past and I’m sure he will be good for us in the future.
“We win as a team and we lose a team – mistakes are part of the game.
“But when they scored the second and third the game was finished.
“I think in the first 25 minutes we played well. We were playing how we wanted to play and having a few counter-attacks.
“This is football, though – you need to be awake all of the time.”
Grant has vowed that Pompey will not give up despite being stuck to the foot of the Premier League table with a nine-point deduction hanging over their heads.
He said: “We have showed spirit and good football in a lot of our games and we want that to continue.
“We will not give up whatever happens – we will always keep fighting.”
Grant is also hopeful that James will not be out for long with his calf injury.
He said: “We hope that David will be okay – we don’t think the injury’s too bad.”