The first free kick, won by former Malaga wide man Josemi, thought to be a rival for Finnan's position, was well flighted by the Irishman and saw Finnish defender Sami Hyypia have his header brilliantly saved by Graz 'keeper Andreas Schranz.
After Gerrard had hit a stunning opener from 25 yards in the 22nd minute, Finnan again tested the Graz rearguard with a cutting delivery, this time from a corner. On the half hour, his ball in was narrowly headed over by Czech forward Milan Baros.
English international Gerrard ran the show, with transfer target Michael Owen kept on the bench and in reserve for the Reds' league opener against Tottenham on Saturday. Gerrard had a long range shot ruled out for high feet from new striker Djibril Cisse on 67 minutes, but made it two eleven minutes later from a set-up by French man Cisse.
Finnan rounded off a solid performance with a tireless display of strong defending and equally effective attacking. atogb rating: 8.
The return leg is on Tuesday August 24th at Anfield, kick-off 8.10pm.