Gianluca Vialli spoke so softly about Chelsea's championship chances that the audience could have been lulled into a contented sleep before awakening to find the silverware mysteriously missing.
Manchester United and Arsenal will not be tricked by the Italian's mellifluous message that they have nothing to fear from Chelsea. For this was the heavy knock on the door from pursuers whose intentions are loud and clear.
Vialli has not changed his public stance since writing off Chelsea's chances three weeks ago. To support his argument, neither has his team risen from third place. But victory at The Valley on the day when the top two faltered breathed a new life into Chelsea's challenge. And, on this evidence, there is plenty of oxygen left in their title tank.
Gustavo Poyet, playing the last 20 minutes, is back to lend intelligent running and goals in support of Gianfranco Zola and Tore Andre Flo, front players full of ideas even if they were not executed here. Marcel Desailly looked refreshed rather than fatigued by two international matches in five days. And, given the luck attending Roberto Di Matteo's winner, everything looks bright in blue.
Not for Vialli, however, whose horizon is clouded not only by the two clubs above - "great teams who have more experience" - but also by the European agenda, which kicks in again on Thursday.
"It's difficult to cope with, mentally and physically, especially in the league when you've just played in Europe." Chelsea go to Wimbledon and Sheffield Wednesday respectively after the games with Real Mallorca.
Curiously, for a former Juventus captain, he was overlooking the strains of United's own European aspirations. There again, perhaps not, because he suggested that the Italian club were his favourites - if only marginally - to win the tie and leave United to concentrate domestically. He even played down the chance of overtaking Arsenal, vulnerable because of Chelsea's game in hand. "If, if. . ." he intoned before brushing aside suggestions that he was playing the psychological card to his rivals.
"United and Arsenal are not up there by chance," Vialli insisted, but then neither are Chelsea, as Alan Curbishley conceded ruefully. "We've lost 1-0 to all the top three here, and this (goal) was a howler. After that, Chelsea just did what they had to do," he said.
But Charlton's manager was not blaming ill fortune for this setback. "It's happened too many times to us; perhaps that's not bad luck." Charlton will need a heavy quotient of it to survive, even though their endeavour once again shone through in defeat.
"I'm sure this will go right to the death," said Curbishley. "But I'm not quite sure what points' total we need. I know we've got to win at least four games out of our last eight." Fortune could have evened out in the space of a minute. The mixup between goalkeeper Sasa Ilic and Carl Tiler producing a poor header punished by a mishit but successful shot from Di Matteo, was followed by an Ed de Goey blunder on the byline. As Chelsea's goalkeeper slipped, Martin Pringle ran clear only to lose control and see Desailly hoof to safety.
De Goey, suffering suspected flu, was replaced at the interval, providing Kevin Hitchcock with rare but largely untroubled action despite heavy Charlton pressure. Ilic remained, recovering from that earlier embarrassment to save well from Flo and Dennis Wise in Chelsea's sporadic attacking.
The Australian-born goalkeeper of Serbian parents was praised by Charlton for his loyalty to the club "by continuing to make himself available for selection" despite the Yugoslavia situation. In return he was granted space in the match programme to plead with NATO to stop the bombing.
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.
Referee: R Harris (Oxford).
