Barca, Bayern and Roma score big wins to start in style

European champions Barcelona led a charge of the fancied teams over the first obstacle of the Champions League course when they nearly all scored emphatic victories yesterday.

Barcelona thumped Levski Sofia 5-0 - a sobering start for the first Bulgarian club to reach this stage of the competition - for their biggest Champions League win.

Bayern Munich thumped Spartak Moscow 4-0 at home, Roma beat Shakhtar Donetsk by the same scoreline in Rome and Chelsea had the better of Werder Bremen in London.

Inter, though, slipped up in Lisbon, losing 1-0 to Sporting and having Patrick Vieira sent off midway through the second half.

Fittingly, it was the turn of holders Barcelona to become the first team to score in this season's group phase when midfielder Andres Iniesta buried a low shot into the corner in the seventh minute.

Levski, the only Bulgarian side ever to make the group phase, found themselves 2-0 down late in the first half after winger Ludovic Giuly cut inside two defenders and then finished off in style by lifting a shot over 'keeper Georgi Petkov.

Club captain Carles Puyol got the third early in the second half, poking home from close range after Petkov had spilled a Ronaldinho free-kick and Samuel Eto'o made it 4-0 with a stunning solo effort nine minutes later.

Ronaldinho then added the icing on the cake when he jinked past two defenders and sent a curling right-foot shot spinning into the far corner in injury time.

In the other Group A match played at Stamford Bridge, Germany captain Michael Ballack scored a second-half penalty as his new club Chelsea eased past Werder Bremen 2-0.

Stepping up instead of Chelsea's usual penalty taker Frank Lampard, who has had little success from the spot recently, Ballack added to midfield dynamo Michael Essien's 24th minute strike from close range.

Werder Bremen, renowned for their attacking flair, kept the pressure on the English champions and World Cup golden boot winner Miroslav Klose was particularly dangerous, hitting the bar with a second-half header but they had no luck.

Bayern Munich awoke from a first-half slumber to secure a comfortable win over Spartak Moscow in Group B.

After a dreadful opening half, Claudio Pizarro put Bayern ahead in the 48th minute, taking a long ball from Willy Sagnol and smacking his shot just inside the post.

Four minutes later Roque Santa Cruz doubled the lead after taking Mark van Bommel's pass, Bastian Schweinsteiger made it 3-0 with a beautifully controlled volley in the 71st and Hasan Salihamidzic tapped in with six minutes to go.

A brilliant goal from midfielder Marco Caneira gave Sporting a 1-0 win over a 10-man Inter.

Caneira scored in the 64th minute. He chested down a high crossfield ball from defender Tonel, touched it past Maicon and unleashed a dipping volley from outside the box that went in off the underside of the bar.

Keeper Francesco Toldo leapt and managed to get a touch but failed to turn the ball over.

The Italian side were reduced to ten men after 68 minutes when Patrick Vieira was sent off for head-butting Brazilian striker Liedson, the France midfielder's second bookable offence.

In the other games, Valencia beat Olympiakos Piraeus 4-2 in Greece in a match in which both teams led during the game.

Fernando Morientes, the former Real Madrid striker back in Spain after a short sojourn in Liverpool, scored a hat-trick for Valencia.

At the Olimpico, Roma, returning to the competition after a season's absence, were second-best for most of the match and would have fallen behind if Shakhtar's strikers had proved more incisive in front of goal.

In the 67th-minute, however, a cross dropped invitingly for midfielder Rodrigo Taddei at the far post to score the first of three goals in 12 minutes that killed off the contest.

Francesco Totti added Roma's second, sweeping in a corner in the 76th minute, before Daniele De Rossi struck with a close range header as the visitors' defence lost its composure. Playmaker David Pizarro wrapped up the result with a long-range shot a minute from the end.

PSV and Liverpool disappoint in 0-0 draw

PSV Eindhoven and Liverpool played out a goalless draw in a disappointing Group C opening match.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard almost secured the points when he struck the bar a minute from time, though PSV also hit the woodwork through forward Arouna Kone after eight minutes.

Both sides put on a lacklustre display in the first half with hardly any chances created and there were plenty of sloppy passes in a match that fell short of expectations.

The other match from this group, between Galatasaray and Bordeaux, also failed to produce a goal with neither side creating many chances on their return to the competition.

After a lacklustre start to their campaign, the home side looked to exert greater pressure in the second half with an attack led by Necati Ates, forcing the French side into some stubborn defending.

Bordeaux looked to exploit Galatasaray on the counter-attack and midfielder Johan Micoud sent a shot just wide of Farid Mondragon's right post in the second half.

Galatasaray's Sabri Sarioglu and Necati went close with shots in the final minutes.