Eric Gerets had likened Liverpool’s players to Duracell bunnies in the build-up to yesterday evening’s game. “Wind them up and watch them go,” the Marseilles coach said, although even that description probably does Steven Gerrard a disservice.

Fernando Torres may be the new king of the Kop, but Gerrard remains Liverpool’s talisman, and at a hostile Stade Vélodrome enthralled by the mouth-watering football dished up before them, we saw why. Two goals - one a trademark long-distance effort, the other from the penalty spot - took Gerrard to within one of a century for Liverpool as they came from behind to secure a winning, if not entirely convincing, start to group D.

If this is the Liverpool captain working his way back to full fitness, the opposition can only live in fear of how good he may be with a few more games under his belt, although it was just as well he came to the rescue again and José Manuel Reina proved equally imperious in goal.

Trailing 2-1, Marseilles rallied the moment Gerrard took his leave in the 69th minute, but while Liverpool lost one hero, they gained another in Reina, the goalkeeper making two fine saves late on to deny Mamadou Niang, who also sent an inviting header horribly wide.

“We played well in the first half, but in the second they pinned us in and the real heroes were the keeper and back four,” Gerrard said. “We were hanging on more than we should have been. To be under pressure for 45 minutes, we need to look at that.

“We knew that they were a good team with small guys who are quick, get in good positions and pass round you. As a team, we were not good enough, but we are a force in Europe and even when we don’t play well all the time, we get the results.”

Marseilles’ plan in the corresponding group match last season had been to kick Liverpool off the park. Having watched those tactics backfire spectacularly during a 4-0 thrashing, Gerets instructed his team to play football last night and they were better for it.

From the first whistle, it was intoxicating stuff, the spectacle improved all the more for both teams’ inability to defend. It is an affliction not normally associated with Liverpool in Europe, but they were ramshackle at the back during a pulsating first half and only marginally better in the second. However, Reina was in fine form.

Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel resembled strangers, and Álvaro Arbeloa and Andrea Dossena were given a torrid time on the flanks by Bakari Koné and Hatem Ben Arfa.

If there was a surprise, it was that it took until the 23rd minute for a goal to be breached. Lorik Cana was alert to Benoît Cheyrou’s elegant lob and, played onside by Carragher, the Marseilles captain raced clear to score.

However, as they had proved at the weekend against Manchester United, Liverpool have character in abundance and the handicap of going a goal behind seemed only to galvanise them. Indeed, this was the third time in five games that the Merseyside club have come from behind to win.

When Modeste M’Bami was dispossessed in the centre circle by Torres, restored to the starting lineup after 16 days out with a hamstring tear, Marseilles were horribly exposed but the counter-attack was still beautifully executed. Darting forward, Torres sprayed the ball out wide to Dirk Kuyt. The Holland forward cut the ball back to Gerrard, who had played 22 minutes of football previously since undergoing groin surgery. Twenty yards out, there was still much for the Liverpool captain to do, but digging out his shot from under his feet, he arced the ball over Steve Mandanda, the goalkeeper, and into the far top corner. It was exquisite.

Ryan Babel erred in the fifteenth minute when he blazed the ball over the bar when it seemed easier to score, but the Dutchman made amends when he gave Ronald Zubar the slip and was brought down by the Marseilles defender’s outstretched leg. Penalty. Gerrard’s nerve was tested when Konrad Plautz, the referee, ordered a retake after Torres was deemed to have encroached into the area, but, having scored on the first occasion, the England midfield player put the ball in the same spot.

Although Babel was denied in the second half, Liverpool seemed intent on preserving their lead but it was a risky strategy against opposition as fast and fluid as Marseilles. In the end they got away with it, but it was a little too close for comfort.

Marseilles (4-1-4-1): S Mandanda — L Bonnart, R Zubar, V Hilton, T Taiwo — M M’Bami (sub: M Valbuena, 42min) — B Koné (sub: M Samassa, 75), L Cana, B Cheyrou, H Ben Arfa (sub: K Ziani, 57) — M Niang. Substitutes not used: R Riou, B Zenden, C Kaboré, E Erbate. Booked: Zubar.

Liverpool (4-2-3-1): J M Reina — Á Arbeloa, J Carragher, M Skrtel, A Dossena — J Mascherano, Lucas Leiva — D Kuyt (sub: R Keane, 86), S Gerrard (sub: Y Benayoun, 69), R Babel — F Torres (sub: A Riera, 65). Substitutes not used: D Cavalieri, D Agger, X Alonso, P Degen. Booked: Skrtel, Lucas.

Referee: K Plautz (Austria).