Paul Robinson kept the visitors in with a shout and probably had Xabi Alonso's low volley covered after seeing it late, the Spaniard's attempt just going wide of the far post.
Then Spurs missed a great opportunity to go in front when Ledley King found himself with the goal at his mercy as Danny Murphy delivered a free kick into a dangerous area six yards out, but the Tottenham skipper got his header all wrong.
King was again centre of attention when a Steven Gerrard shot appeared to make contact with the defender's arm just outside the box, but nothing was given, and King got his foot in to avert further danger with Craig Bellamy on the prowl.
A typical Bellamy effort was then dealt with superby by Robinson, which would have pleased the watching England manager.
Indeed, the first half was never short of exciting moments and was a fairly even contest as was reflected in the scoreline at the interval but in the second half the home side proved the stronger outfit.
Liverpool took the gamew by the scruff of the neck after the break, but still the game remained goalless, and it was Spurs who came so close to breaking the deadlock first.
Jermaine Jenas who had run the full length of the pitch to get on the end of an opportunity that only required the midfielder to make proper contact with an Edgar Davids cross which had beaten goalkeeper Jose Reina. Jermain Defoe had started the move inside the Tottenham half just after the hour mark.
But Liverpool went up the other end straight away and scored, then doubled their lead ten minutes later. And in the last minute the home side made it an emphatic final score that didn't really reflect the contest.
Martin Jol: “You can't say we were controlling things against
"In the first 60 minutes, especially the first half, I thought we did ever so well."
"But the (opening) goal was a disastrous moment for us. I don't remember seeing two phases of play inside a minute like that where we should have scored and then the ball is in our net."
“It was all about the minor mistakes causing big damage. An example is the first goal when Gerrard had a one against one against Benoit Assou-Ekotto. We had to support Benoit in that situation and we couldn't because we'd had a break and two midfield players had gone.
"After that we had to open up, we had to go forward and there was so much space for Liverpool, they looked a good team in the last 10, 15 minutes.
"It was such a shame for the supporters because they were there in so many numbers again and they kept supporting us."
“I thought a 3-0 defeat was too much in the end, we should have scored and that's been the problem.
“JJ has realised he's a big player for us and has taken that responsibility. He was gutted at Anfield. It hurt him inside.
“He worked hard, played well and he's had to play in a different position because Aaron Lennon is out and he filled in with no complaints. He played well in Slavia, and scored the goal.”
Jermaine Jenas: “Straight after the game it affected me and I was pretty low, but on Monday I came in, spirits were up again and the lads were all determined to put things right.”
Danny Murphy: “It was great to be back at Anfield and I was delighted with the reception I got but really disappointed with the result because at half-time we really thought we could get something from the game.”
“The minute between JJ's chance and their goal showed the thin line between success and failure. We could have been 1-0 up with half an hour to play with something to hold on to and fight for, but instead moments later we were 1-0 down with a mountain to climb.
“Then of course as the game went on we got stretched and we ended up getting beat 3-0, which was a little bit unfair. Even one or two of their boys said after that it wasn't a 3-0 game.
“We knew
“I think
Paul Robinson: "We missed a very good chance and they punished us. For 60 minutes we were arguably the better team and didn't deserve to lose by a three-goal deficit."
"Maybe Liverpool played better than us in the second half, but such a margin did not reflect the game because for the first hour we played well. The killer blow was missing a chance then conceding. We were hurt and disappointed."
Teemu Tainio: "It reminded me of the game last season where we had a great chance to score and they got a goal up the other end."
"When they scored they took the game in hand and ended up with a 3-0 win. We felt very disappointed and hurt because we started the game well and the first half was fairly even."
"The way we felt afterwards it was hard to take something out of the game."
"We have all been through tough times before."
Source: TottenhamHotspur.com