Charlton 0 Chelsea 1

Chelsea maintained the pressure on the Premiership title-chasers but consigned Charlton to a survival dogfight at the Valley.

Gianluca Vialli knew that nothing less than the maximum three points would fuel his side's drive for the title and with influential coach Graham Rix starting a twelve-month prison sentence, desperately needed a boost to morale.

With both sides accustomed to studying the table and form guide for distinctly different reasons, it was hardly surprising that a high-octane match was played with all the passion of crunch London derbies of yesteryear.

Chelsea, determined to make headlines on the pitch after a fortnight of screaming news headlines, dominated the early proceedings, laying siege to Sasa Ilic's Charlton goal-line.

Unlike fellow Yugoslavians plying their trade in the Premiership, Ilic made the decision not to boycott the match in protest at NATO air strikes.

Instead, he wrote an impassioned article in the match programme pleading for the bombing to stop.

He was in the thick of the action early on with Gianfranco Zola and Albert Ferrer both hitting the side-netting. But Roberto Di Matteo was deadly accurate firing home Chelsea's opener in the 11th minute as confusion reigned in the Charlton goalmouth.

To their credit, Charlton, a side reared in the battling spirit of manager Alan Curbishley, refused to buckle under the weight of Chelsea pressure.

Both Mark Kinsella and Martin Pringle tested the visitors' back line and forced keeper Ed De Goey to work for his money.

Swedish international Pringle wasted the hosts' best first-half opportunity when despite beating De Goey, he was stopped from scoring by a brilliant goal-line clearance from Marcel Desailly, which saved the Blues blushes.

Chelsea could have extended their lead before the break but Ilic was in fine form. Tore Andre Flo and Zola went close, while the innovative Ferrer was a constant thorn in Charlton's side.

After the break, the home side's record 1.1million signing Graham Stuart almost marked his debut with a fine, headed effort, but the Valley faithful watched in agony as the former Sheffield United man's attempt flashed wide.

Charlton thought they might exploit Chelsea's goalkeeping weakness as mighty Dutch 'keeper De Goey was replaced by Kevin Hitchcock following a first-half injury, but the understudy proved more than capable.

In contrast to the early exchanges, the Addicks began to enjoy themselves, but their neat passing game lacked the bite to penetrate Vialli's all-star line-up.

Ilic was again in the thick of the action as the visitors upped the momentum in search of the decisive goal. The Yugoslavian kept out a stinging Di Matteo effort with a textbook block and then saved a precision, close-range Flo header with his feet.

With Chelsea in the ascendency, the time was right for their temperamental captain, Dennis Wise, to earn his obligatory yellow card by clattering into John Barnes.

Charlton campaigned to the whistle, but in the final analysis, their rivals never looked like surrending their early lead.

Teams

Charlton: Ilic, Mills (Barnes 55), Powell (Jones 81), Rufus, Kinsella, Mendonca (Hunt 77), Robinson, Brown, Tiler, Pringle, Stuart.

Subs Not Used: Petterson, Bowen.

Booked: Stuart.

Chelsea: De Goey (Hitchcock 46), Ferrer, Le Saux, Desailly, Leboeuf, Di Matteo (Duberry 85), Goldbaek, Wise,Morris (Poyet 70), Flo, Zola.

Subs Not Used: Lambourde, Nicholls.

Booked: Wise, Poyet.

Goals: Di Matteo 11.

Att: 20,046.

Ref: R Harris (Oxford).