Charlton 1 Liverpool 2

CHARLTON'S biggest crowd since they returned to The Valley in 1992 of 27,103 saw them beaten by Liverpool in the Barclays Premiership.

Shaun Bartlett gave the Addicks a first half lead, before Fernando Morientes equalised after the break with his first goal for the club and Jean Arne Riise grabbed the winner.

England international Steven Gerrard came close to opening the scoring after eight minutes with a shot that hit the bar after the ball rebounded to him when Charlton keeper Dean Kiely saved at point blank range from Luis Garcia.

Bartlett's 20th minute header ensured Charlton went into the break with a 1-0 lead. He ran from deep to meet Danny Murphy's corner from the right with a powerful downward header that bounced just before the goal line and ended up in the roof of the net

Kiely again kept the visitors out when he saved well at the feet of Morientes before, at the other end, Hermann Hreidarsson almost doubled the Addicks' lead with a glancing header that Liverpool keeper Jerzy Dudek did well to get down to as the ball headed towards the bottom corner of the net.

Liverpool hit the woodwork for the second time in the game when Riise's shot crashed against the underside of the bar after 56 minutes.

Their pressure finally paid off in the 62nd minute when Bryan Hughes gave the ball away to Morientes who drilled a shot past Kiely.

A last ditch tackle by Igor Biscan denied Murphy soon after the restart, but it was Liverpool who scored a second on 78 minutes when Garcia found Riise in space at the far post and he drove a low shot past Kiely.

Charlton: Kiely, Young, El Karkouri, Fortune, Hreidarsson, Holland (Jeffers 77), Murphy, Hughes (Euell 67), Konchesky, Thomas (Kishishev 59), Bartlett. Subs Not Used: Andersen, Johansson.

Attendance: 27,103.