Uefa Champions League wrap: Chelsea cruise, Arsenal lose, holders Barcelona draw

English side Chelsea put their domestic woes on hold with a comfortable 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv in their Champions League Group G opener on Wednesday night.

Despite Eden Hazard ballooning a penalty early on, Brazilian midfielder Willian gave the Blues an the lead after 15 minutes when his free-kick from deep evaded everyone in the box and bounced into the back of the net.

The last kick of the first half saw Oscar slot home from the spot as Jose Mourinho’s men headed into the half-time break with a two-goal advantage. The reigning EPL champions added two more in the second half as Diego Costa, on for the injured William, finished expertly from a pin-point Cesc Fabregas cross, before Fabregas himself added a fourth late-on to secure the 4-0 victory and the perfect start to Chelsea’s continental campaign.

Fellow English side Arsenal suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, the Gunners playing the majority of the game with 10-men after striker Olivier Giroud’s sending off 40 minutes into the encounter. A late Theo Walcott consolation was not enough as Arsene Wenger’s men brought home no points from their trip to Croatia.

Holders Barcelona earned a point in the Italian capital after a 1-1 draw with AS Roma, Luis Suarez heading in the opener before a wonder-strike by Alessandro Florenzi drew the hosts level as they secured a point against the five-time champions.

Thomas Muller was at it again for Bayern Munich, his brace helping the Bundesliga club to a 3-0 win against Olympiacos, with Mario Gotze also recording his name on the scoresheet.

Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen trounced BATE Borisov 4-1, Dynamo Kiev and Porto shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw; Belgian club Gent managed a 1-1 draw at home with French opponents Olympique Lyon while Spanish side Valencia suffered a surprise 2-3 home defeat to Russian club Zenit St Petersburg.

All Wednesday night Champions League results:

Group E:
Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 BATE      
Roma 1-1 Barcelona   

Group F:
Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 Arsenal      
Olympiacos 0-3 Bayern Munich

Group G:   
Dynamo Kyiv 2-2 Porto      
Chelsea 4-0 Maccabi Tel Aviv  

Group H:  
Valencia 2-3 Zenit      
Gent 1-1 Olympique Lyon