It will be ten years on Saturday since a raw, skinny teenager from Huyton took the tentative first steps of his career as a Liverpool player and, while a decade of happy union is traditionally marked with gifts made of aluminium or tin, Steven Gerrard is dreaming only of silver. The Barclays Premier League title would be nice, of course, but, as he secured his team’s place in the knockout stages last night with his fifth goal of the campaign, he might have wondered whether he was on a one-man crusade towards another Champions League final.

There was none of the drama that accompanied Liverpool’s most famous nights in this competition and, for that, they can thank their everinspirational, ever-reliable captain. They have never been quite the one-man team that has been suggested in recent years, but at times this season it has been Gerrard alone who has enabled them to rise above mediocrity in group D.

There were two goals in Marseilles, one against PSV Eindhoven, a face-saving equaliser against Atlético Madrid here this month and a first-half header last night that smoothed Liverpool’s progress into the last 16, even if that goal did not succeed in banishing the nerves of some of his team-mates in what became an alarmingly disjointed performance in the second half.

Gerrard called it “nervy”, saying that “this is something we need to look at”, but for now, rightly or wrongly, Liverpool draw comfort from their results being considerably better than their performances. Rafael Benítez, the manager, believes that the latter will improve as Fernando Torres edges back towards full fitness, having recently returned to action after a month on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, and as his summer signings bed into the team. Disconcertingly, perhaps, Robbie Keane was an unused substitute, while Andrea Dossena made a fitful contribution as a half-time replacement for the injured Fábio Aurélio.

For now, Liverpool are relying a little too heavily on Gerrard, but there could be few safer bets for a team pinning their hopes on a single player. Gerrard has everything required of a talisman, not least an impeccable sense of timing. Having rescued his team for the umpteenth time, by winning and converting a penalty deep into stoppage time to earn a 1-1 draw with Atlético three weeks earlier, he made the decisive contribution last night with a thumping header in the 23rd minute, ghosting in from the left wing, having seen his corner kick half-cleared, to meet Xabi Alonso’s perfect cross from the opposite flank. It will not make any list of Gerrard’s great goals — there are far too many 30-yard blockbusters for it to come close — but, in its own way, it was a classic.

Restraint has become another Gerrard trait, in contrast to the hot-headed days of his youth. In first-half stoppage time, as he went to take a corner in front of the Marseilles supporters, he was struck on the chest by a cigarette lighter thrown from the crowd. Whereas Didier Drogba, the Chelsea forward, reacted to a similar slight in his team’s recent Carling Cup defeat by Burnley by throwing a coin back into the crowd, earning himself a three-match ban, Gerrard, barely breaking stride, glanced up, shook his head and went on about his business. Uefa said last night that it will launch an investigation into the incident.

By that stage, Liverpool seemed to be coasting into the knockout stages, but there had been the odd scare along the way. Taye Taiwo, the Marseilles full back, tested José Manuel Reina with a fierce free kick in the 36th minute, while the Liverpool goalkeeper flapped at a Hatem Ben Arfa corner moments later, giving Ronald Zubar a free header that the defender could not convert. In the second half, with Javier Mascherano and Alonso losing their grip on midfield, Marseilles pushed forward.

The jet-heeled Ben Arfa switched to the right wing to prey on the erratic Dossena, who, beaten for pace midway through the second half, was guilty of a horribly crass challenge on Laurent Bonnart a matter of inches outside the penalty area. Ben Arfa struck the resulting free kick with pace and accuracy and was unlucky to find Reina equal to his effort.

Liverpool were suddenly rocking and, with Torres still a long way from top form, were unable to use their favoured outlet in attack. “It was strange because we were controlling the game and then in the second half Marseilles caused us some problems,” Benítez said. “They needed to attack and they had three strikers, which was difficult for us. We need to improve. We have to keep the ball better.”

Dossena made a couple of more valuable contributions in the final stages, snuffing out the threat of Mamadou Niang on both occasions as the game drifted towards a surprisingly ill-tempered conclusion. Mascherano was booked for an ugly lunge on Mathieu Valbuena, prompting a mêlée in which Álvaro Arbeloa and others were in danger of losing their heads.

Gerrard, though, remained calm, safe in the knowledge that he had kept Liverpool on course for another tilt at lifting the European Cup. Ten years on from his debut, as a substitute in an otherwise forgettable 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers, Gerrard continues to walk tall.

Liverpool (4-2-3-1): J M Reina — Á Arbeloa, J Carragher, D Agger, F Aurélio (sub: A Dossena, 46min) — X Alonso, J Mascherano — D Kuyt (sub: Lucas Leiva, 85), S Gerrard, A Riera (sub: Y Benayoun, 63) — F Torres. Substitutes not used: D Cavalieri, M Kelly, R Babel, R Keane. Booked: Mascherano.

Marseilles (4-3-3): S Mandanda — L Bonnart (sub: M Samassa, 89), R Zubar, V Hilton, T Taiwo — K Ziani, L Cana, B Cheyrou — B Koné (sub: M Valbuena, 78), M Niang, H Ben Arfa. Substitutes not used: R Riou, J Rodriguez, C Kaboré, B Zenden, E Grandin. Booked: Niang.

Referee: O Benquerença (Portugal).