Schalke 04 were made to work hard for more than an hour before scoring three times to beat battling Steaua Bucharest 3-0 in their Champions League Group E opener.
Atsuto Uchida gave the German side a lucky lead against the run of play when he floated in a 67th-minute cross to the near post and the ball bounced into the net after a defensive misunderstanding.
Kevin-Prince Boateng doubled the lead in the 78th, completing a swift move involving Jefferson Farfan before Julian Draxler put a gloss on the scoreline five minutes from time.
Schalke, who have won their group in each of their last two Champions League campaigns, were troubled by the disciplined Romanians, who had to battle through the qualifying rounds to reach this stage of the competition.