Watford 0 Liverpool 1 (Agg 0-2): Steven Gerrard will not judge Liverpool's progress according to their success in the League Cup but the midfielder has more than done his bit to send the club into the final.

Having scored the only goal of the first leg at Anfield, Gerrard repeated the trick 13 minutes from time last night to seal a face-off against Manchester United or Chelsea in Cardiff on February 27th. If Liverpool's performance did little to suggest they are regaining their form, they were rarely troubled by Watford and it sufficed to be solid rather than inspired. Jerzy Dudek did not have a save to make as Watford lacked the subtlety or cutting edge to go with their effort.

Liverpool, too, created next to nothing but Rafael Benitez can at least smile again. The FA Cup upset at Burnley and league defeat at Southampton will feel less oppressive after reaching a final. His team controlled much of this second leg without impressing and it was no surprise that Gerrard killed off Watford, having been the team's brightest spark yet again. This was, again, a reminder of how vital he is to the club.

Liverpool treated Watford, unlike Burnley, with the utmost respect. Benitez selected his strongest available team, with Fernando Morientes and Milan Baros strikers of the international calibre not often seen at Vicarage Road these days. Baros, though, was used by Benitez in a wide-right position as Liverpool started with a 4-2-3-1 set-up in which Morientes was furthest forward.

Most of the game was played in Watford's half to begin with but Liverpool posed little goal threat. Early on, Watford closed down quickly, their captain Gavin Mahon showing the way with his effort and tackling in midfield. But Liverpool's control of the game was marked in the opening 20 minutes, with Gerrard involved in many of their better moments.

By the time Mahon pulled Watford's first shot wide almost half an hour had gone, though Liverpool had fared little better. It was only a short while earlier that they had carved out the first opening, Gerrard's pass enabling Morientes to fire a shot deflected off target.

Liverpool were content not to push too many men forward. Their full-backs, Steve Finnan and Djimi Traore, never overlapped, for example, and it was a breakaway which gave them their next opportunity.

Gerrard led the counter but his pass was slightly behind Baros and the move broke down.

Growing in confidence, Watford pressed and there were moments to excite the crowd, even if no chances came. Most of the threat came down the flanks and a neat move just before the interval ended with Finnan having to make a good tackle on Hameur Bouazza.

Watford needed to maintain the momentum they had built before half-time but there was little to encourage them immediately. At least they snuffed out Liverpool's best moments, notably when Neil Cox made a good covering challenge on Baros as the Czech bore down on goal from Gerrard's pass. Later Gerrard seemed to have a decent shout for a penalty when tripped by James Chambers.

But Liverpool remained largely uninspired. If they had the majority of the ball, Watford were sporadically posing a threat, seen when Jermaine Darlington had a shot blocked, and after they brought on Danny Webber to bolster their attack.

They never made life easy for Liverpool but showed little sign of the subtlety that seemed to be needed to make something from open play. And they were grateful for a block by Cox when Morientes shot from inside the area. But Gerrard ended the tie as a contest when he picked up possession from John Arne Riise, advanced towards the area and struck a low shot into the corner.

WATFORD: Jones, Darlington, Cox, Demerit, Chambers, Devlin (McNamee 80 mins), Gunnarsson (Dyer 77 mins), Mahon, Ardley, Bouazza (Webber 56 mins), Helguson. Subs not used: Chamberlain, Doyley.

LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Carragher, Pellegrino, Traore, Riise, Finnan, Gerrard (Potter 90 mins), Hamann, Biscan, Baros (Sinama Pongolle 85 mins), Morientes, Sinama Pongolle (Luis Garcia 89 mins). Subs not used: Carson, Warnock. Goal: Gerrard 77.

Referee: M Riley (W Yorkshire).