FC Barcelona and Chelsea posted victories Tuesday on the opening day of the group stage in this season's Champions League.
Defending champion Barcelona routed Bulgarian team Levski Sofia 5-0 at Camp Nou stadium on first-half goals by Andres Iniesta and Ludovic Giuly, and three in the second half from Carles Puyol, Samuel Eto'o and Ronaldinho.
"We knew we couldn't relax because any team can beat you," Puyol said.
Michael Essien celebrates Chelsea's opening goal in Tuesday's 2-0 win.
(Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Chelsea, which has spent about $839.7 million in the last three years for players, beat Werder Bremen 2-0 on goals by Michael Essien and Michael Ballack.
Ballack's penalty was his first goal for Chelsea since moving from Bayern Munich.
"I'm happy," Ballack said. "But it was a difficult game for us.
"Of course, it was the first game, and nobody knows how we'd start. I knew Bremen was a very good team and it was important we scored the first goal."
Ballack took the penalty instead of Frank Lampard, who has missed several key penalties in recent games.
"Before I spoke with Frank and he said, 'You can take it,'" Ballack said.
Chelsea and Barcelona are both in Group A and will play in back-to-back games on Oct. 18 and 31.
"It was an important victory," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. "It was the first game and it was against a team we know will contest every game and every point and can give Barcelona a difficult time."
In Barcelona's victory, it marked the first time the Spanish team has worn advertising on the front of its dark red-and-blue shirts for a competitive game.
The club now carries the logo of UNICEF, the United Nations humanitarian agency.
Barcelona was the last major European club to shun putting a sponsor's name on shirts.
In other action, it was Bayern Munich 4 Spartak Moscow 0, and Sporting Lisbon 1 Inter Milan 0 in Group B; Galatasaray 0 Bordeaux 0, and PSV Eindhoven 0 Liverpool 0 in Group C; and Olympiakos 2 Valencia 4, and AS Roma 4 Shakhtar Donetsk 0 in Group D.
Sluggish start
Bayern Munich bounced back from a sluggish start with a strong second half to bury Spartak Moscow 4-0.
Claudio Pizarro scored the first goal in the 48th minute, and Roque Santa Cruz padded the lead in the 52nd.
Bastian Schweinsteiger and Hasan Salihamidzic wrapped up the scoring later in the half.
Calgary-raised midfielder Owen Hargreaves played for Bayern.
In the other Group B match, Marco Caneira's goal in the 64th lifted Sporting Libson over Inter Milan.
Group C is shaping up as the weakest in the Champions League with all four teams failing to score on Tuesday.
In Group D, Fernando Morientes scored three goals — in the 34th, 39th and second-half injury time — to lead Valencia to a 4-2 victory at Olympiakos.
Raul Albiol scored the other for Valencia.
Michalis Konstantinou and Nery Castillo scored for Olympiakos.
In the other group game, Roma overwhelmed Shakhtar 4-0 on second-half goals by Rodrigo Taddei, Francesco Totti, Daniele De Rossi and David Pizarro.
