Piquionne 82

Liverpool produced their worst display of their wretched season in losing deservedly to the EPL’s bottom club Portsmouth.

The south coast strugglers are an improved outfit from the side that lost their first seven league games.

But this was still a shocking performance from Rafa Benitez’s men, both before and after the 43^rd-minute dismissal of Argentine international midfielder Javier Mascherano.

They defended poorly throughout, the back four culpable in both goals, and apart from the inevitable Steven Gerrard, they lost heart long before the end, with striker Fernando Torres the most visibly dispirited.

Torres’s curled effort over the bar from the edge of the area was the one goal-threatening moment of quality in the first half-hour.

But on 33 minutes, Pompey’s Kevin Prince-Boateng forced a save out of a startled Pepe Reina in the Liverpool goal.

And Nadir Belhadj latched onto Glen Johnson’s poor headed clearance to volley the ball into the net with his right-foot past Reina at his near-post.

Daniel Agger should have equalised moments later but sent his close-range header from a Gerrard free-kick narrowly high and wide.

And matters were made worse by Mascherano’s over-the-ball lunge at Tal Ben-Haim which saw him get a red card and a knee ligament strain.

Portsmouth keeper Asmir Begovic made a stunning save midway through the second half as a Gerrard effort took two deflections, the second diverting the ball goalwards.

But Portsmouth should have doubled their advantage late on, only for Frederic Piquionne to mistime his close-range header wide of the target.

The French striker made amends with nine minutes left, converting Boateng’s low cross from the right with a neat turn and crashing volley reminiscent of Belhadj’s earlier strike.

The indefatigable Gerrard was inches wide with a late left-footed effort. But Benitez’s bizarre post-match insistence that “the referee was perfect” better summed up Liverpool’s desperate afternoon.