Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's double earned Manchester United their 11th win in 12 Premiership matches and sent them back to the top of the table.

Solskjaer provided two clinical finishes - one in each half - as the champions leapfrogged over Liverpool and Newcastle at the summit.

The Norwegian, who scored in both games against Charlton last season, has now struck 12 times in the league this season while the combined total of his impressive partnership with Ruud van Nistelrooy has now breached the 30-mark.

Sir Alex Ferguson's team showed just one change - Fabien Barthez the notable absentee with Roy Carroll in goal at The Valley in the week that both the French international and club denied he had been disciplined for attending a London nightclub hours before training in Manchester earlier this month.

United's fluent passing game was not helped by the heavy pitch but, in between repelling Charlton's initial enthusiasm - emphasised by Jason Euell's crunching tackle that left England captain David Beckham hobbling for five minutes - and another late home flurry, United showed their undoubted quality.

Beckham, who is set to lead his country in Wednesday's friendly with Holland, ran off what appeared to be a dead leg and showed he was prepared to muck in with other heavy legs around him.

Having offered little themselves in the final third of the field during the opening exchanges, United's ability to strike from deep resulted in the first shot on goal.

Intricate midfield passes resulted in Roy Keane freeing Solskjaer, who turned to tee up Ryan Giggs, whose first-time effort flew wide.

That 13th-minute move was followed by another neat raid midway through the first period which saw Keane's drive from the edge of the area turned away, low to his left, by his Republic of Ireland colleague Dean Kiely.

At the other end, none of a clutch of Charlton bodies could get a decisive contact on Mark Fish's near-post flick from a corner.

And, as the contest drew on, United - a point behind leading pair Liverpool and Newcastle - began to flex their creative muscles.

Van Nistelrooy - apparently a Charlton fan as a youngster - had looped a volley off-target after nipping in ahead of Jorge Costa, the Portuguese international centre-back, and when the Dutch marksman exchanged passes with Beckham, the latter's attempt was deflected over the top.

The goal Ferguson's team had threatened arrived in the 33rd minute as Keane's sublime 40-yard pass arrowed over Fish's head and into the stride of Solskjaer, who controlled with his left foot and curled the ball around Kiely with his right.

Only moments later, the hosts might have been level after a scramble on the edge of the United area -Euell lost his footing on the rutted surface and when Carroll spilled the loose ball the striker could only poke back into his arms from a prostrate position.

Goalscorer Solskjaer twice went close to doubling the advantage in the opening minutes of the second period.

First, after seizing on Giggs' clever pass, Kiely foiled him at his feet.

Then, when Keane cushioned Beckham's deep cross into his path, the Norwegian flashed a volley the wrong side of Kiely's left-hand upright.

Charlton's best hope of a leveller appeared to be from the corners of Chris Bart-Williams and from one such flag-kick, the unmarked Euell nodded wide from another Fish flick-on.

Just after the hour, however, Curbishley's men thought they had restored parity as another Bart-Williams delivery resulted in mayhem.

Fish bobbled the ball goalwards and captain Graham Stuart diverted it past Carroll but to Charlton's - and most of the season-best 26,475 crowd's - dismay the linesman had spotted both Stuart and Euell in offside positions.

Charlton's vibrancy was soon sucked out of them, though, as Solskjaer finally added his and United's second.

Giggs wriggled free in the area and although his shot was battered out by Kiely, Solskjaer was on hand to poach his fifth goal in three matches from a diminishing angle.

Young midfielder Scott Parker, the home side's best player on the day, threatened an immediate riposte when he let fly from 20 yards but his drive thudded into the advertising boards.

Teams

Charlton: Kiely, Young, Costa, Fish, Powell, Robinson, Bart-Williams, Parker, Stuart (Svensson 72), Euell (Johansson 82), Lisbie (Konchesky 82).

Subs Not Used: Ilic, Fortune.

Man Utd: Carroll, Phil Neville, Blanc, Gary Neville, Silvestre, Beckham, Keane, Scholes, Giggs (Butt 88), van Nistelrooy (Veron 66), Solskjaer (Forlan 78).

Subs Not Used: Van Der Gouw, Irwin.

Booked: Phil Neville.

Goals: Solskjaer 33, 74.

Att: 26,475

Ref: A Wiley (Burntwood).