Barca start with emphatic win

European champions Barcelona led the charge of the fancied teams over the first obstacle of the Champions League course...

European champions Barcelona led the charge of the fancied teams over the first obstacle of the Champions League course when they nearly all scored emphatic victories on Tuesday. Barcelona thumped Levski Sofia 5-0 8212; a sobering start for the first Bulgarian club to reach this stage of the competition 8212; for their biggest Champions League win.

Bayern Munich played superbly in the second half after a woeful opening 45 minutes to beat Spartak Moscow 4-0 at home, while AS Roma beat Shakhtar Donetsk 4-0 in Rome with all their goals also coming in the second half. Chelsea beat Werder Bremen 2-0 in London with Michael Ballack scoring his first goal for the club as he fired home from the penalty spot against his compatriots to seal the win.

Stepping up instead of Chelsea8217;s usual penalty taker Frank Lampard, who has had little success from the spot recently, Ballack added to midfield dynamo Michael Essien8217;s 24th-minute strike from close range in the Group A match. 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 header in the second half. Lampard also hit the post in a fast and furious end-to-end game.

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

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.

Two matches failed to end conclusively with PSV Eindhoven and Liverpool drawing 0-0 in the Netherlands while Galatasaray were held to a goalless draw in Istanbul by Girondins Bordeaux.

Fittingly, it was European champions Barcelona who scored the first goal of this season8217;s competition proper following the qualifying rounds. Andres Iniesta put Barca ahead after seven minutes and Ludovic Giuly 39, Carles Puyol 49, Samuel Eto8217;o 58 and Ronaldinho scored in stoppage time.

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Bayern showed Spartak Moscow they still know what European football is all about 8212; in the second half at least. Claudio Pizarro set them on their way with a 48th minute strike while Roque Santa Cruz 52, Bastian Schweinsteiger 71 and Hasan Salihamidzic 84 wrapped up the victory.

AS Roma also did well in the second half against Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine. They scored three goals in 12 minutes through Rodrigo Taddei, Francesco Totti and Daniele de Rossi before David Pizarro scored their fourth a minute from time.