LONDON: FC Barcelona and Chelsea picked up victories on 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.

Chelsea, which has spent about $750 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, but it was a difficult game for us,'' Ballack said. ``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. ``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 a difficult time to Barcelona.''

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.

Also, 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.

The results: Barcelona 5 bt Levski Sofia 0; Chelsea 2 bt Werder Bremen 0; Bayern Munich 4 bt Spartak Moscow 0; Sporting Lisbon 1 bt Inter Milan 0; Galatasaray 0 drew with Bordeaux 0; PSV Eindhoven 0 drew with Liverpool 0; Olympiakos 2 lost to Valencia 4; AS Roma 4 bt Shakhtar Donetsk 0. — AP

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