Charlton Athletic 0 Liverpool 3: Gerrard too kind to the have-nots

Charlton appear doomed without a slice of the fortune that will shortly smile on Liverpool

At the final whistle, Steven Gerrard stopped to sign an autograph for a young fan. He then offered his shirt as well. A decent seasonal gesture from the England man after an embarrassingly one-sided victory, though Liverpool followers witnessing their captain's act may have reflected that what should have resulted in a feast of Steven could, given the visitors' profligacy, have ended with nothing but gruel.

Benitez's men enjoyed 20 attempts, nine on target. It was football by cruise control and a case of pumping the accelerator when needed. Never mind that, at 1-0, the result of Xabi Alonso's third-minute penalty, they were vulnerable until 10 minutes from time.

As a shirt-sleeved Les Reed came down to the touchline to exhort his men, two fine opportunities came their way. The manner in which the two Darrens, Ambrose and Bent, spurned those openings exemplified Charlton's current plight. Confidence has ebbed from them, and though the Charlton manager spoke of "some great performances" he will deceive few of the home supporters who made an early cut once Craig Bellamy had secured victory with Liverpool's second. It was Gerrard himself who brought a more realistic reflection to the scoreline with a late third.

Benitez could afford to indulge his men's failings in front of goal. "With 3-0, you must be happy," he insisted. "I can't say anything to the players. They know the final pass must be a little better."

The two faces of the Premiership could hardly be more unkindly illustrated than they were here yesterday: the haves, who are just about to have a lot more, versus the have-nots, who have so much to lose if they fail to preserve their Premiership status. Liverpool, savouring their second consecutive away win, survey a horizon that promises a Champions' League last-16 encounter with Barcelona, while further afield, at the end of that rainbow, a crock of gold containing Sheikh Mohammed's £450 million, if the deal proceeds.

"Today they couldn't stop us, right from the beginning," said Benitez. "We were so superior it was almost impossible for them." He had some words of advice for his Charlton counterpart: "You must know what is your league. Which games you want to win."

He was not attempting to be condescending. The Spaniard, during a much-travelled managerial career, has been there, in the lower reaches of La Liga with Extremadura, who had been promoted under him, but then struggled the following season. "At the bottom of the League, you must be really calm. You need to say 'this game is not my game. Others will be more important'."

Which is all very well, except Extremadura ended up being relegated... The evidence of yesterday suggested that Charlton are heading that way, too. Reed, who signed a three-year contract last week, has set a 42-point target. But that appears distant, particularly when Andy Reid is absent, as he was from half-time with a hamstring injury.

The former Liverpool defender Djimi Traoré's high boot in the face of Jermaine Pennant, as he and the Liverpool player challenged for the ball in the area, persuaded Howard Webb to award a third-minute penalty. Alonso converted his second goal of the season from the spot.

For much of the first period, the home side took a real battering. Bellamy and Mark Gonzalez missed chances. Yet, curiously Charlton had a splendid chance to equalise when goalkeeper Pepe Reina could only push away Reid's attempt, and Hermann Hreidarsson placed the rebound over an empty goal.

After the interval, Thomas Myhre reacted well to deny Alonso from 25 yards and Gonzalez missed a header from the corner that ensued. Then just before the hour, Dirk Kuyt struck a post. Still 1-0, and Charlton nearly seized the moment. First an unmarked Ambrose drove over from Dennis Rommedahl's deep cross and then Bent, without a goal in seven games, adeptly controlled Talal El Karkouri's cross before stabbing wide.

They were made to rue those lost chances as Bellamy eluded the marking of substitute Souleymane Diawara and scored with a sweet shot on the turn, and then Peter Crouch's nod-down gave Gerrard the space and time to chip cleverly over Myhre. Reed continues to talk a brave game after conceding eight goals in two games, but he admitted: "It's not easy. Our position is very difficult for players to come to terms with. But I have to believe that we can turn it around." Asked about his own relaxed demeanour, he maintained: "I'm a very positive person and I don't think me flying off the handle is going to help."

The suspicion is all that will help his team is flying in some reinforcements. Oh, for just a hand-out from the fortune Liverpool are about to receive.