Charlton Athletic enjoyed a perfect start to their return to the Championship on Saturday, running out 2-1 winners over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park to take maximum points on the opening day.

Despite Blackburn enjoying more of the chances, it was Charlton who led at half time thanks to Ben Purrington's second goal in as many games, as he converted Jonny Williams' cross just moments before the interval.

After the break Blackburn rallied once more, and levelled in bizarre fashion, as Anfernee Dijksteel cleared Bradley Johnson's goalbound header off the line, only for the ball to ricochet into the net off the back of the Addicks helpless goalkeeper Dillon Phillips.

It was Rovers who looked most likely to snatch a winner after that, but ultimately it was the visitor's who claimed the three points, with last season's top scorer Lyle Taylor diverting Jason Pearce's header from a corner past debutant Christian Walton in the Blackburn goal to seal a much welcome early three points for the Addicks.

Having played such a key role in Charlton's promotion last season, it seems inevitable that Taylor will play a crucial role now in keeping them in the second tier this year, and he certainly seemed to relish that role on Saturday.

Here, we've put the spotlight on his performance at Ewood Park, to see if he really is ready to lead the line for Charlton in the Championship.

Looking at the stats from Taylor's first-ever Championship appearances on Saturday, they certainly do seem to be encouraging for the striker, and indeed Charlton as a whole, looking ahead to the new season.

The first thing to note is just how efficient Taylor was with his shooting at Ewood Park.

Having taken four shots across the course of the 90 minutes, the 29-year-old clearly appears to have the confidence to back himself over the course of the season, and you can understand why.

With three of those four shots finding the target, Taylor is certainly going to trouble opposition goalkeepers this year, and if he is able to maintain that sort of record across the course of the season, then you feel he stands a good chance of finding the net on more than enough occasions to keep Charlton in the fight for survival at the very least.

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Another interesting - and encouraging for those of a Charlton persuasion - aspect of Taylor's performance on Saturday, is that he needed just two touches inside Blackburn's penalty area across the whole 90 minutes to find what proved to be the match-winning goal.

That sort of ruthlessness could well be vital for a Charlton side who may not get many chances in games across the season - as proved to be the case on Saturday - so to have someone who is as capable a finisher as Taylor is to take those chances that come his way will be a huge boost, and a weight off the shoulders for manager Lee Bowyer.

One further sign of encouragement for Charlton to come from Taylor's first appearance in the Championship came in the form of his confidence to compete in the air.

If Charlton are to spend much of the season with their backs to the wall in their own half of the pitch, then they will need a strong target man they can send long balls forward to in order to release that pressure.

At 6ft 3in tall, Taylor is certainly someone with the build to fit that role, and having competed for no fewer than eight aerial duels across the course of the 90 minutes, there can be no doubting that Taylor is going to back himself to carry out that all-important job for Charlton across the course of the season.

It may be early days, but Charlton simply couldn't have asked for much more than they got from their return to the Championship on Saturday, both in terms of the result and the performance of their star player.

They may have been written off by many before a ball had even kicked, but a few more performances like this from Taylor and co. may just have a few people starting to re-think those early-season expectations.