One of Michael Owen's Liverpool milestones came to grief on Gerrard's previous visit here last December. He scored in a 4-0 rout and, in the process, became his home club's record marksman in Europe.
It was a lot tighter on his return, but there was still no mistaking his relish for the occasion and surroundings as he launched Liverpool's latest Champions League campaign in style with two goals.
Marseille skipper Lorik Cana had increased the noise level inside their concrete bowl of a ground with a 23rd-minute opener when Gerrard decided it was time to take charge with an inspired curling finish in the 26th minute and twice-taken penalty shortly after. That left him on 99 goals for Liverpool overall, 27 of them coming in Europe.
Liverpool almost paid for allowing carelessness to creep in near the end as Mamadou Niang somehow headed wide from six yards, then compounded his misery in injury time with another glaring miss.
Credit Pepe Reina for sticking out his right boot and pulling off a crucial save, but the Liverpool keeper should not have had a hope as the normally lethal front-runner took aim from no more than eight yards.
Rafa Benitez refused to point an accusing finger at the way his side almost threw away the winning start he had demanded, as he said: 'Marseille were looking dangerous in attack and maybe we were feeling a little tiredness in the closing minutes but I have to be really pleased. Atletico Madrid and PSV Eindhoven are going to find it difficult here, so to come away with three points is really important.
'We needed to work really hard in defence and make the most of our counter-attacks and I thought Stevie's first goal was fantastic. But what I really liked was his reaction at the end. He felt there was room for improvement from everyone and that is a positive sign for me.'
Marseille are still unbeaten in the French League after launching their campaign with eight goals in their first two games. It was easy to see why as Niang blazed over after bursting clear in the 14th minute and Cana broke the deadlock nine minutes later.
The Marseille captain timed his run to perfection to beat Liverpool's offside trap as he latched on to Benoit Cheyrou's through-ball and held his nerve to slot the ball past the advancing Reina.
Liverpool have made a welcome habit of recovering swiftly from such setbacks this season and they were back on terms in the 26th minute after Fernando Torres won the ball in the centre circle and released Dirk Kuyt on the right. An early ball towards the surging Gerrard and Liverpool were on terms, as a superb curling first-time shot from 20 yards floated beyond a bemused Steve Mandanda and into the far corner.
Ryan Babel, influential with some of his approach work but again infuriating with his finishing, earned the penalty as he brought down a long ball from Jamie Carragher and swept past hapless centre back Ronald Zubar, who could only floor the Liverpool forward with an outstretched leg.
If Gerrard's opener was a product of instinctive brilliance, his second six minutes later was down to nerves of steel as he slotted his kick in off a post, only to be ordered to take it again by referee Konrad Plautz. By the time he gathered his thoughts and composed himself once more, a good two minutes had elapsed after the Austrian official had pointed to the spot. It made little difference as Gerrard, in his first start since groin surgery, unerringly drove the ball into the same corner.
Babel squandered two inviting chances in the 75th and 78th minutes, driving one point-blank shot against Mandanda's outstretched gloves and the other against the outside of a post. It looked like proving costly as Marseille sensed a reprieve.
In the end, the let-off was Liverpool's as Niang failed to cash in and Gerrard was clearly perturbed by the way his side surrendered the initiative. He said: 'They pinned us in for spells in the second half and we were hanging on at the end.
Being under pressure like that is something we are going to have to look at. We stopped playing in the second half and never passed it. 'We were not good enough, but we are a force in Europe and even when we don't play well throughout a game, we still get the results.'
Marseille manager Eric Gerets looked crestfallen as he fumed: 'We had more than enough clear-cut chances to have won and it feels like a real missed opportunity.
'It was incredible to lose like that and it makes me really angry. Not many players could have scored that first goal of Liverpool's, though. It was an exceptional piece of skill from a truly world class player.'
