Charlton Athletic 2 Liverpool 0Liverpool's ability to sustain a top-three place was seriously questioned at The Valley last night when they were outplayed and outfought for most of the match by a Charlton side whose limitations have been there for all to see in recent weeks.

Being defeated by Manchester United and Chelsea as they have been recently, either side of their draw with Birmingham, is one thing. But coming away a poor second best against a side who were 10 places and 15 points inferior at the start of the match is quite another.

Goals have been Liverpool's headache this season and the pain didn't go away last night.

But here their vaunted defence looked equally shaky against a Charlton side who at times played with real panache.

Both sides showed the sort of nervous intensity associated with a run of poor form, though Darren Bent's penalty opener near the end of the first half raised the temperature of the game.

Liverpool had taken just one point from nine, hardly the stuff of a team allegedly establishing a new order of things near the top of the Premiership.

They were without their leading scorer Steven Gerrard but at least they were able to welcome back goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek for his first full game since his wobbly-kneed brilliance in the Champions League final in Instanbul in May.

Dudek replaced the suspended Jose Reina, red-carded for his infamous clash with Chelsea's Arjen Robben on Sunday.

This was Liverpool 42nd match of the season; if they were a juggernaut, which they are in a footballing sense, they would have been pulled over and banned from the roads.

Charlton were once again without midfield player Matt Holland, who had just failed to recover from his thigh injury, but Jerome Thomas was back in the side after his electric performance after coming off the bench at Spurs on Sunday.

The indifferent form of recent weeks hampered both sides in a disappointing first 40 minutes.

Liverpool might have taken the lead as early as the seventh minute when Stephen Finnan crossed from the right only to see Fernando Morientes shoot straight at Thomas Myhre.

The pace and power of the Bents, Marcus and Darren, meanwhile, were concentrating the attention of Sami Hyypia and Jamie Carragher.

Marcus should have done better than direct his free header straight at Dudek rather than Darren.

Peter Crouch disappointed at the other end when Djimi Traore crossed from the right. Instead of going for the necessary header he chested the ball down and lost control of it.

Charlton took the lead in the 43rd minute when Radostin Kishishev crossed from the right and Darren Bent got behind the Liverpool defence only to be fouled by Dudek.

The Charlton supporters screamed for a red card; it was yellow but the crowd were appeased by the fouled forward's fine penalty, low to the keeper's right.

Before Liverpool had recovered from this they were two down.

Once again Liverpool's normally assured back four were infiltrated when Alexei Smertin got behind Hyypia and made room for skipper Luke Young to drive in his first goal for 17 months.

If Charlton expected a comeback from Liverpool after the break they were not disappointed. Their goal was besieged by a rampaging Liverpool side and Charlton's central defenders were heroic in the air as they repelled the offensive waves.

But Charlton went closer when they took the pressure off themselves by launching a counter-attack in which Darren Bent crossed from the right and the ball flew inches over the head of the leaping Marcus.

And on the hour Darren streaked past Hyypia to send a rasping drive against the bar.

That was immediately after a forlorn looking Crouch, whose numerous falls in the area had enraged the Charlton players, had made way for Robbie Fowler, to the delight of the travelling supporters.

Charlton's impetus, though, was difficult to resist and the inspired Darren Bent almost created a third goal for Marcus in the 62nd minute.

Liverpool's forwards were showing signs of desperation and jeers filled the stadium when Djibril Cisse fired hopelessly wide.

Recent signing Jan Kromkamp was sent on for Cisse with 11 minutes left, but still the visitors struggled to find a way past a determined Charlton defence.

CHARLTON: Myhre, Young, Perry, Hreidarsson, Spector, Hughes, Kishishev, Smertin (El Karkouri 83), Thomas (Ambrose 79), Marcus Bent, Darren Bent. Subs Not Used: Andersen, Euell, Bothroyd. Booked: Thomas, Perry. Goals: Darren Bent 42 pen, Young 45.

LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Finnan, Hyypia (Riise 70), Carragher, Traore, Cisse (Kromkamp 78), Sissoko, Alonso, Kewell, Morientes, Crouch (Fowler 60). Subs Not Used: Carson, Hamann. Booked: Dudek, Carragher.

Referee: A Marriner (W Midlands).