West Ham stayed firmly rooted in the English Premier League relegation zone following a 3-0 defeat by Liverpool at Upton Park today.
Milan Baros and Steven Gerrard put Liverpool 2-0 up within nine minutes while Emile Heskey completed the scoring in the second half with his second goal in as many matches.
All of Liverpool's goals came from John Arne Riise corners, a clear sign of the Hammers' defensive problems.
Liverpool stay sixth in the table although they closed the gap on fifth-placed local rivals Everton to three points.
But they still trail leaders Arsenal by 14 points.
West Ham, who saw relegation rivals Bolton and West Brom both win yesterday, remain second bottom with only Sunderland beneath them.
Hammers' fans who thought Wednesday's 2-1 home win over Blackburn - the club's first league victory at Upton Park this season - was the start of a revival had their hopes quickly dashed.
In the seventh minute Riise's corner from the right saw Czech forward Baros rise unchallenged inside the six yard box.
Baros' free header for his sixth goal of the season gave former Liverpool keeper David James no chance.
Barely two minutes later Liverpool had their second from a similar position.
England keeper James came to punch another Riise corner. But there were too many bodies in the way and James failed to make full contact.
The ball came to Liverpool and England midfielder Gerrard on the edge of the box and his powerful low shot from 20 yards sped into the far corner to make it 2-0.
Baros might have had a second after 15 minutes when, after turning defender Glen Johnson, his low shot just went past the post.
In the second half the Hammers were sparked into life by the 55th minute arrival of French striker Frederic Kanoute, on as a substitute for Ferdinand.
He twice went close in as many minutes but both his well-struck shots just cleared the crossbar after some stylish approach play.
Rufus Brevett, recently signed from Premiership rivals Fulham, came off the bench to replace veteran full-back Nigel Winterburn in the 59th minute.
But he could do nothing about another defensive lapse that led to Liverpool's third in the 67th minute.
Riise's inswinging delivery went deep to the back post where Liverpool captain Sami Hyypia headed the ball back.
West Ham thought the ball had gone out of play and all but stopped while England forward Heskey stole in at the near post to nod home.