Paul Scholes ended his barren scoring sequence as Manchester United brushed aside Charlton's tame challenge.
Ryan Giggs' shot deflected off Charlton defender Luke Young to wrong-foot goalkeeper Dean Kiely after 40 minutes.
And Scholes struck a spectacular volley five minutes after the interval for his first United goal since the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal in April.
Wayne Rooney missed two good chances and fired narrowly off target as United dominated against woeful Charlton.
United were boosted when Ruud van Nistelrooy declared himself fit after picking up a hip injury in Holland's World Cup qualifying win against Andorra.
But he had little joy in an opening half-hour when United were frustrated by Charlton's well-organised rearguard.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson rested Gary Neville, Gabriel Heintze and Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the Champions League game against Lyon on Tuesday, and the revamped line-up took time to click into gear.
Three points is what we needed and we got them - we should now go on a winning run!
Giggs fired across the face of goal and Scholes tested Kiely as United finally mounted a spell of pressure.
It took a moment of magic - and some good fortune - for Giggs to break the deadlock five minutes before the interval.
Giggs raced at the heart of Charlton's defence and got a stroke of luck when a tame finish deflected off Young and beat the diving Kiely.
There was no good fortune required when Scholes added a brilliant second five minutes after half-time.
Fletcher's cross was slightly behind Scholes, but he adjusted his position to flash a brilliant finish beyond Kiely.
Scholes then set up Wayne Rooney, who shot over from eight yards - and the England youngster was off target again as United enjoyed total supremacy.
Ruud van Nistelrooy says Manchester United cannot afford to look up at Arsenal and Chelsea if they want to put together a decent run of results.
United are currently nine points behind Arsenal and 11 points behind leaders Chelsea.
Victory over the Gunners proved to be a false dawn as they followed that result with defeat at Portsmouth and a draw at home to Manchester City.
But the Dutchman is hoping that Sunday's 3-1 win over Newcastle United can be the start of something a little more special.
"The 3-1 result at Newcastle was a great one for us and I hope it now gives us the lift we need," said van Nistelrooy in the Manchester Evening News.
"We hope we can take this forward and not let it slip again like we did after Arsenal. We have to build on this and not waste it again.
"Against Arsenal everybody was talking about kick starting the season. We have said it a couple of times and it hasn't happened afterwards.
"It was disappointing after the win against Arsenal to then lose at Portsmouth and only draw with City. One point from those two games after such a confidence-boosting win was a big let-down.
"It is now vital for us to get going. We have not had a proper run of victories to build up a head of steam and we must now put together.
"We can't afford to be thinking about what is going on at the very top of the league. We're not thinking or talking about Arsenal or Chelsea. That is not our focus. Our focus is on what we do.
"If we can't react to a good vital win then it is no use thinking about what anybody else is doing. We mustn't let this boost be ruined again."
Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy rekindled Manchester United's championship hopes Sunday with a 3-1 victory at Newcastle in the Premier League.
Rooney scored twice and Van Nistelrooy returned from suspension and made a penalty kick, helping Man United advance to seventh place, but still 11 points behind first-place Chelsea.
"You shouldn't write us off," Rooney said. "We think we can do it. We all believe in ourselves especially after the win today."
Rooney scored after seven minutes but Alan Shearer tied it in the 71st. Van Nistelrooy scored his penalty kick three minutes later after the referee questionably ruled Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given brought down Paul Scholes. Rooney added the third goal in the third minute of injury time.
Newcastle twice came close to scoring before United struck in the seventh minute. Man United goalkeeper Roy Carroll made a low, diving save to keep out Shearer's free kick, and Patrick Kluivert volleyed over the bar.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is delighted to have Ruud van Nistelrooy back as he looks to end his side's barren run in front of goal at Newcastle United on Sunday.
Van Nistelrooy returns after completing a three-match domestic ban and is set to lead an attack that has failed to score in three of the last four league games.
"His strike rate as a centre forward is amazing, and it's an area which is frustrating us at the moment," Ferguson told a news conference on Friday.
"With the amount of possession we had last week (against Manchester City) we did miss a lot of chances, and although we had two shots cleared off the line and two penalty-kicks turned down it is frustrating not to get the ball in the net."
Van Nistelrooy, who is likely to start his 100th league game for United at St James' Park, has scored nine times this season, though only two have come in the Premier League and both of those were from the penalty spot.
Wayne Rooney has scored only one league goal since his arrival from Everton, while Paul Scholes is yet to score and Louis Saha claimed his first goal of the campaign in the League Cup against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
However, Scholes does have an impressive record at Newcastle, where he scored the winner last season, and Ferguson believes the goals will come for the former England midfielder.
"He's like a lot of what is happening at the club at the moment, he's just not getting the breaks near the goal," Ferguson added.
"Every striker wants that goal to change their fortunes, just like Louis Saha on Wednesday.
"It just changed his game and we're all delighted for him and hopefully we're saying the same thing about Scholesy on Sunday."
Arsene Wenger launched an impassioned defence of Thierry Henry as he insisted the Arsenal forward is the best striker in the world – and more of an all-round player than Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Henry has come in for criticism amid the recent stumble in Arsenal’s fortunes, with some critics questioning whether he scores enough goals on big occasions and against quality opposition.
They point to last season’s Champions League quarter-final ties against Chelsea, this season’s clash at Old Trafford, the 2000 UEFA Cup final against Galatasaray and also the Euro 2004 finals.
Wenger responded by citing Henry’s record of 56 goals in 84 games in the past 15 months, stressing that not even van Nistelrooy – with 48 goals in 68 games in that period – can stand comparison.
The Arsenal boss declared: “I feel the criticism of Thierry is completely undeserved and amazing.
“Don’t forget, this guy is top scorer and provider in the league, and top scorer in the Champions League for us. We should only praise him.
“Look at his record. He’s won championships in England and France, cups in England, the World Cup and the European Championships with France, but still has to justify himself.
“Who can you compare him with? Nobody. You cannot compare him with Ruud van Nistelrooy. Thierry is a goalscorer and a provider, while Van Nistelrooy is a goal-getter in the box.
“Nobody else up front can repeat, week in and week out, the quality of what he is achieving. You cannot do it in every game.
“Shevchenko doesn’t do it, Ronaldo doesn’t do it, nobody does it. You have to accept that a man is not a machine.
“But Thierry has still done it it in big games. He’s scored eight goals against Manchester United, a hat-trick away to Roma and two against Inter last season.”
Van Nistelrooy, meanwhile, may have hit four goals against Sparta Prague in midweek, but has only scored twice against Arsenal in eight games and twice against Chelsea in six matches.
Wenger was therefore not about to start heaping praise on his Old Trafford nemesis, whose conduct he has questioned in each of the past two seasons.
“Thierry responds well to criticism, but in this case it’s a bit overboard. It’s because of all the comparisons between him and van Nistelrooy, but it’s not based in fact,” he stressed.
“Look at the number of games he plays. It’s amazing. When you’re at a big club and have players with that kind of consistency, you have to accept they will be a bit less fresh at some points as they’re only human beings.
“When you’re a striker, you have to accept that you will miss chances, or you would commit suicide.
“I don’t think that it is playing on his mind. He was world champion at 20. Do I think he’s still the best striker in the world? Yes, of course I do.”
MAN UTD 2-0 CHARLTON
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