Had a go at producing a live match-report of the Liverpool v Marseille game...

Steven Gerrard’s goal secured Liverpool ’s place in the knockout stages of the Champions League after a nervy display against Marseille at Anfield.

Gerrard got on the end of a scrumptious cross from Arbeloa, where he stood completely unmarked to head into the back of the net.

The goal was the captain’s fifth in five games in this season’s campaign and the highlight of a poor Liverpool display that saw Marseille dominate possession for long periods of the match.

Taye Taiwo came closest for the French side with a wicked thirty-five yarder, which was turned onto the post by the ever-consistent Pepe Reina. Ben Arfa also tested the Liverpool keeper with a wonderful effort from a free-kick late on, but Liverpool managed to hold on and progress.

The Reds now enter their final game of the group against PSV Eindhoven in Holland , level on points with Athletico Madrid but with an inferior goal difference.

After an unconvincing opening, Liverpool eventually sprung to life after twenty-two minutes, when Fernando Torres hurtled down the right, but after cutting a nice ball back from the by-line, Dirk Kuyt’s header was parried by Marseille stopper, Steve Mandanda.

A minute later, however, the deadlock was broken.

After the French side failed to clear a Liverpool corner, Arbeloa curled a sumptuous cross to the back post, where Steven Gerrard stood completely unmarked and sent a powerful header into the back of the net.

The goal put Liverpool at ease – they started stroking the ball around at a leisurely pace – and a second looked imminent.

But the home side were wary of their opponents, with the French side having won 1-0 on their visit to Anfield last season. And it was Marseille who came closest to the game’s second goal, when Taye Taiwo unleashed a wicked low shot from thirty-five yards, which was turned onto the post by the ever-consistent Pepe Reina.

But Liverpool didn't sit on their lead and in the closing stages of the first-half, Albert Riera collected a Mascherano pass on the edge of the area, unleashing a stinging low drive, but Mandanda got down well to tip the ball behind for a corner.

The second half began as the first concluded, with both sides creating some good openings. Marseille went closest in the fifty-fourth minute, when Niang twisted beautifully past Carragher, but his feeble shot went straight into Reina's arms.

Three minutes later, Ben Arfa waltzed past Andrea Dossena but after smashing the ball across the face of goal, there was no one there to prod it home. And as the French side threatened, their supporters became more and more boisterous.

And they nearly had a goal to sing about. Ben Arfa fired in a wonderful effort from a free-kick after sixty-eight minutes, which Reina tipped behind for a corner.

Marseille were well on top by this stage and with ten minutes remaining, Mathieu Valbuena, curled in a delightful free kick and Zubar, up from the back but headed just wide.

It was certainly not the performance we were all expecting after Saturday’s stalemate against Fulham. But Liverpool 's defence, superbly marshalled once more by Jamie Carragher, held out and can now concentrate on topping the group and avoiding some potentially hazardous opposition in the last 16.

Quote based match report for Monday's press: Liverpool 3 v 0 West Brom

GIVEN the £250m windfall that Rafael Benitez has splashed out during his reign as Liverpool boss, he undoubtedly has a mixed record when it comes to buying strikers. In fact, take away Fernando Torres and some Liverpool supporters would opt for something far more derogatory.

The Liverpool manager never fully embraced the unique possibilities of Peter Crouch, while Dirk Kuyt is more likely to play on the wing and Fernando Morientes, Craig Bellamy and Andriy Vronin have come and gone having made – give or take the odd sparkle– a somewhat subdued impression to say the least. So Robbie Keane would not have been alone in being relieved after Saturday’s match.

Benitez, who celebrated his 150th victory as Liverpool boss, has spent much of the autumn justifying the £20m he spent on Keane in the summer, a task that would have been unnecessary if the former Tottenham striker was putting the ball in the net.

He makes chances, he works hard for the team was the gist of the Spaniard's argument. But the unspoken message was clear. He just wanted the Irishman to get himself on the score sheet.

And luckily for Keane, Benitiez and thousands of doubting Liverpudlians, he bagged his first and second league goals of the season, bringing with it as much comfort to Anfield's backroom staff, you suspect, as it did the player.

"We were talking about Peter Crouch before," Benitez said, "and once he scored one goal he got a lot. Hopefully it will be the same with Robbie. We told him he is not under pressure, 'Keep calm, you are playing well', but in the end strikers always want to score goals. This afternoon was very, very important for him."

Part of Keane's problem (make that most strikers) is that he is not Torres. It’s difficult enough attempting to replicate the Spaniard’s scoring record, but a prolonged baron spell quickly erodes a striker's confidence.

You could see that with Keane on Saturday, who was too hasty with his first chance, shooting straight at Scott Carson in the 13th minute when Torres you suspect would have calmly slotted the ball in the corner.

Yet once the Irishman put Liverpool ahead with a dink over the West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper 21 minutes later, self-belief pumped through Keane's veins, injecting renewed composure when it was sorely required.

A second followed nine minutes later when he beat a fragile offside trap, rounded the over-ambitious run of Carson and converted with the precision of a striker unburdened.

And afterwards the Dubliner insisted there was never any concern about his barren spell. "I used to worry about things like that when I was younger but you tend not to when you get older," he claimed.

"My first Premier League goal for Liverpool has been a long time coming but I knew it was only a matter of time. Hopefully that is Robbie Keane back to his best”.

But like clockwork, with almost 20 minutes of the match still remaining - and with a mini-game of attack v defense to follow - Anfield had to stifle its annoyance as Keane was substituted for the 13th time this season.

Benitez’s response - he had given the forward long enough. "I was waiting for him to get the hat-trick but then I decided to change it," he said.

Yet with the return of Fernando Torres, back from a hamstring injury to replace the Irishman, it seemed things could hardly have worked out better for the Liverpool boss. But they did.

Right-back Alvaro Arbeloa showed it is not just strikers who can score breathtaking goals with a stoppage time stunner, smashed in with his left foot. The game, however, was already over way before this point.

Albion may have been their customary neat and tidy selves but once again they were raw up front, naive at the back and ultimately outclassed all over the pitch.

"If we survive this season we'll come back stronger," their manager, Tony Mowbray, said afterwards.

Sadly for most neutrals that applaud Albion's commitment to a more uplifting style of play, that "if" appears to be getting larger by the match.