Manchester City 4 Charlton 0

JUST as the club thought things could not get any worse after the 4-1 opening day ambush at Bolton, so Charlton subjected their punch-drunk supporters to a second humiliation in 15 days on Saturday.

Not only were there no goals from Charlton, there was no passion in a performance that rambled on meaninglessly amid a sea of shoddy skills and ponderous thought.

"We're a soft touch," declared manager Alan Curbishley after the game. "I'm as shocked as I was after the Bolton game. The same characteristics that were in the performance against Bolton were there again today.

"You cannot win an away game in the Premier League if you come in 2-0 down at half time. In the past few seasons we've gone to Bolton and Manchester City and made it difficult for them. Now these last two away performances have left me with a lot of thinking to do in the next two weeks. One thing is for sure, we can't carry on like that because we've conceded eight goals in two away games."

Nicolas Anelka (two) Trevor Sinclair and Shaun Wright-Phillips netted City's goals.