Liverpool in victory quartet vs Marseille

“It was a cup final scenario,” Gerrard said. “We needed a big performance. Full of character and hard work. We know we’ve got the quality.” Last season’s runners-up had kept alive hopes of qualification with an 8-0 win over Besiktas and a 4-1 win over Porto, and those hopes were raised further when Gerrard put Liverpool ahead in the fourth minute at Stade Velodrome.

The England midfielder was brought down in the area by a tackle from Gael Givet and, although his penalty kick was saved by goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, he was first to the rebound and hit the ball back into the net.

Torres made it 2-0 in the 11th, slaloming through the home defence on the left of the area and finishing with a low left-foot shot, and Kuyt put the result beyond doubt three minutes into the second half with a low shot from Harry Kewell’s left-wing cross.

Ryan Babel scored Liverpool’s fourth goal in injury time, his third goal as a substitute in this season’s competition. “The players were really focused on the game,” Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said. “We controlled almost everything.” Having been last after three matches, Liverpool advanced to the next round with 10 points — just one fewer than 2004 champion Porto, which beat Besiktas with goals from Lucho Gonzalez and Ricardo Quaresma.

Gonzalez scored easily in the 43rd from Tarik Sektioui’s pass as Besiktas goalkeeper Rustu Recber halted with a raised arm in the mistaken belief that Sektioui was offside.

Quaresma swept a low shot past Rustu in the 62nd after exchanging passes with striker Lisandro Lopez. “The most important thing was to achieve our aim, to get through this phase and reach the next round,” Quaresma said. “From now on, we know only the best teams in Europe are left.”

Marseille finished third in Group A and enters the second-tier UEFA Cup.

Real Madrid led 2-0 after 15 minutes on their way to a win over Lazio that clinched first place in Group C, while Olympiakos qualified alongside the record nine-time European champions with 11 points. Julio Baptista put Madrid ahead with a 20-meter (yard) shot and Raul Gonzalez scored his record 59th Champions League goal with a header.

Robinho made it 3-0 in the 36th after an exchange of passes with Ruud van Nistelrooy, meaning Goran Pandev’s late goal for Lazio was only a consolation. Ieroklis Stoltidis scored two goals and set up another for Olympiakos, clinching second place and forcing Bremen into the UEFA Cup.

Stoltidis scored the crucial opening goal for the Greek champions in the 12th, collecting the ball 20 meters from goal and sending a swerving shot past goalkeeper Tim Wiese. Darko Kovacevic doubled the advantage in the 70th with a header and Stoltidis made it 3-0 with a close-range shot four minutes later.

Tuesday’s Results

• Group A: Olympique Marseille 0 lose to Liverpool 4 (Steven Gerrard 4, Fernando Torres 11, Dirk Kuyt 48, Ryan Babel 90+1)Porto 2 (Lucho Gonzalez 44, Ricardo Quaresma 62) beat Besiktas 0

• Group B: Chelsea 0 Valencia 0 Schalke 3 (Gerald Asamoah 12, Rafinha 19, Kevin Kuranyi 36) beat Rosenborg Trondheim 1 (Yssouf Kone 23)

• Group C: Olympiakos Piraeus 3 (Ieroklis Stoltidis 12, 74, Darko Kovacevic 70) beat Werder Bremen 0 Real Madrid 3 (Julio Baptista 13, Raul 15, Robinho 36) beat Lazio 1 (Goran Pandev 80)