Queens Park Rangers produced a ruthless display to thrash struggling Portsmouth 6-1 at Loftus Road.

The hosts raced into a three-goal lead inside 29 minutes through a Paul Smyth double, scored either side of a long-range effort from Rayan Kolli.

Portsmouth pulled one back before the break through John Swift, but Kolli struck again early in the second half with Richard Kone then converting a penalty in the final five minutes of normal time.

Kone became the third Rangers player to score twice when he finished off a counter-attack two minutes later to compound Pompey's plight in west London.

After a tough build-up already before a ball was kicked at Loftus Road, with Portsmouth posting financial losses and on a poor run of form, it could not have been a much worse opening half hour for head coach John Mousinho.

It took his side only seven minutes to concede when a poor touch from Swift gave up the ball in midfield and Harvey Vale's deflected pass found Smyth who fired home with the help of a deflection from 20 yards.

Kolli doubled the advantage with a peach of a 30-yard strike that squeezed past keeper Nicolas Schmid before Smyth ran through the middle onto another Vale assist to calmly slot in a third.

Swift lifted Pompey spirits briefly by pulling one back with a fine finish from outside the area that crashed in off the post, but the visitors lacked the clinical edge of QPR despite having 20 shots to QPR's nine and 33 touches inside their box.

Unfortunately for the travelling Portsmouth fans, their nightmare afternoon continued as Kolli's second came in the 55th minute when he burst past his marker and drilled in from a tight angle to restore the three-goal cushion.

Kone then converted from the spot after Colby Bishop's challenge on Esquerdinha was penalised in the 86th minute, and he then sealed the emphatic victory moments later from another Vale assist following up a fast break.

QPR head coach Julien Stephan told BBC Radio London:

"It was not our best offensive collective performance. I think we have had some better games collectively since the start of the season, but it was really, really clinical today.

"The first three shots, in fact, were three goals, which completely changed the momentum of the game and the balance of power, giving a lot of confidence, even if they managed to score once before half-time.

"But we restarted very well in the second half with the willingness to continue to attack and to score more goals."

Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent:

"We conceded three goals in quick succession really early on and they felt particularly poor today.

"There is loads to unpick, we know what we've produced is nowhere near good enough and if you come away from any game losing by that margin you know there's a lot of soul searching to do.

"Everybody has been talking in there but it's my responsibility with how we set the boys up today and what we've produced which is why head coaches get hired and why they're the ones that lose their jobs.

"I need to take everything I've spoken about and heard in there and hopefully turn it into something positive."