Gerrard accepts Jose Mourinho's side have the upper hand now after their hard-fought 1-0 victory on Wednesday in the semi-final first leg at Stamford Bridge.

But the man who lifted the trophy in Istanbul two seasons ago wants more of the same and said: "We have come this far and we know what we want. Now it is up to us to take it and I believe we can do just that."

Liverpool will have their chance at a packed, passionate Anfield on Tuesday in the second leg to book their place in the Athens final on May 23 against either Manchester United or AC Milan.

The Reds were stretched to the limit by a powerful Chelsea display in west London but the Premier League champions had only Joe Cole's goal to show for their dominance.

"It was a very tough match, Chelsea are strong and have outstanding players and we did not play well in that first half but after the break we had much more possession and that was encouraging," added Gerrard.

"We tried our best to get in down the lines. We tried to create but we only managed half-chances. I am sure we can create a lot more next week in the second leg.

"We still have confidence, you've got to be like that. We knew before the game it was always going to come down to the second leg, a draw for us at Stamford Bridge would have been a lot better but, although Chelsea have the upper hand at the moment, it is not over by a long way.

"We now hope to create another great Anfield night, we all want that."

And Gerrard called on Liverpool's experienced players to take the initiative and ensure the team is up to the task of reaching the club's seventh European Cup final.

He said: "It is down to the manager and the leaders in the dressing room to get the atmosphere right and make their mark on the occasion.

"We all want to be in another European final."

Liverpool had to thank goalkeeper Jose Reina for an outstanding display which kept the Merseysiders in the tie.

But he warned that they must not allow themselves to be caught on the counter-attack as easily as they were for Cole's eventual winner.

"They made some great chances and when we went forward they showed how good they are on the counter-attack," said the Spaniard.

"We have to be aware of that and make sure we do not repeat such situations at Anfield. Everything is still possible.

"I was disappointed with their goal, we had talked a lot about not being caught out in defence by their quick counter-attacks but that is what happened.

"A long ball up to (Didier) Drogba and he was away, and they got players up in support very quickly, Cole ran a long way.

"It was just the sort of goal we had talked about not allowing them to score."

Xabi Alonso praised his international team-mate, saying: "Pepe made some outstanding saves, he kept us in it.

"But Chelsea keeper Petr Cech also made a stunning save from Stevie (Gerrard) that looked a goal all the way. That was the difference in the end.

"They defended very well and made it hard for us to find good positions around the box but we have come back from worse results than this.

"The second leg will be a massive game for our club, similar to two years ago (when they beat Chelsea 1-0), but then we were level after the first game at 0-0. This time it will be harder.

"We know how special Anfield is on European nights, it is up to us to make that work to our advantage."

Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt also believes it is all to play for at Anfield.

"It obviously wasn't the result that we wanted but, as they say, it's still only half-time in the tie. Now we just have to make sure we score first at Anfield," said the Holland international.

"European nights at Anfield are like nothing else and we have to make sure we produce a special result.

"With the supporters behind us, we have a chance to change this result."