Liverpool cruise past Charlton

Vladimir Smicer gets in front of Chris Powell to score

Liverpool 2-0 Charlton
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Liverpool returned to the Premiership summit without ever hitting top gear in a low-key victory over Charlton.

Vladimir Smicer put the Reds in front midway through the first half and Michael Owen made it 2-0 before the break.

Gerard Houllier's side never really cut loose but it still took three smart second-half saves from Dean Kiely to deny them a third.

  Match facts

23 mins: Vladimir Smicer heads Liverpool in front

36 mins: Michael Owen makes it 2-0

Liverpool began with three strikers but lost one of them, Emile Heskey, to injury after just 19 minutes.

And his replacement, Smicer, made an immediate impact.

Charlton's defence failed to pick up the Czech international and he headed home Danny Murphy's free-kick from six yards out with his first touch.

That goal, Smicer's second in successive matches, eased the tension Liverpool had shown in the early stages.

At times our passing and movement was exceptional and Danny had an absolutely outstanding game

Liverpool assistant manager Phil Thompson

Jamie Carragher should have put them ahead in only the second minute when he blasted Nicolas Anelka's return pass over the bar.

But the Reds then failed to build on that early momentum until Smicer put them ahead.

By that point, Charlton's best moment of the half - a Graham Stuart 30-yarder that drifted high and wide - was behind them and Liverpool began to take full control.

Michael Owen scores Liverpool's second

Smicer was again involved in the Reds' second, albeit inadvertently as his miscued effort from Anelka's cross teed up Owen to double the home advantage.

There was a suspicion of offside surrounding the England striker's effort, but the flag stayed down and Liverpool had the crucial cushion of a two-goal lead.

Yet despite that security, the Reds still struggled to find any sustained rhythm, although it took some heroics from Kiely to deny them a third.

I don't think we turned up really

Charlton boss Alan Curbishley

The Addicks keeper first tipped a Carragher shot round the post in the 54th minute after Owen's header had been cleared off the line.

And he made another sharp save on 73 minutes after Murphy drilled in a left-footer to round off a fluent Liverpool attack.

But between those efforts, Jason Euell had Jerzy Dudek at full stretch in the Liverpool goal to tip over his powerful drive from 18 yards.

The Reds were still the stronger side, though, and Kiely again needed to be at his best to keep out a long-range blast from John Arne Riise five minutes from time.

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Liverpool: Dudek, Carragher, Henchoz, Hyypia, Riise, Murphy, Hamann, Berger (McAllister 83), Heskey (Smicer 19), Owen (Litmanen 78), Anelka.
Subs not used: Arphexad, Wright.
Booked: Smicer

Charlton: Kiely, Young, Costa, Rufus, Powell, Stuart, Bart-Williams, Parker (Kinsella 57), Konchesky (Robinson 69), Svensson, Euell.
Subs not used: Ilic, Johansson, Fortune.
Booked: Parker

Att: 44,094

Ref: D Gallagher (Oxfordshire)