For Stoke City, the margin of victory was as striking as the score itself. A four-goal success in the Championship reflected a side that found the net repeatedly while leaving nothing behind at the other end. In a match-status sense, the contest ended with the home team fully in control and Charlton unable to alter the direction of the game.
For Charlton Athletic, the result was a tough one to absorb. Conceding four and failing to reply left the visitors chasing a game that only moved further away as the scoreline widened. The clean sheet for Stoke also underlined how little room there was for a response once the home side took charge.
The raw score, the result and the final summary all point the same way: Stoke were decisive, Charlton were second best, and the highlights from this one will belong to the home side.