Five star Barcelona go singing in the rain

Barcelona's Brazilian Ronaldinho (R) celebrates after captain Carles Puyol scored to make it 3-0 against Levski Sofia during their Champions League group stage match in Barcelona. Barcelona won 4-0.

Barcelona got their defence of the Champions League off to a flying start by giving out a 5-0 thrashing to Levski Sofia despite torrential rain, in their Group A match.

Seeking to become the first team to retain Europe's top club trophy since AC Milan achieved the feat in 1990, Barca tormented the Bulgarians with goals from Andres Iniesta, Ludovic Giuly, Carles Puyol, Samuel Eto'o and Ronaldinho.

"I'm very happy that we won in such a fashion. It's always good to make a winning start to the Champions League, especially at home," said Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard, after their biggest win in a Champions League opening match.

"The first thing was to get the win, in the Champions League you have to respect every opponent. After that, yes, it was satisfying to score so many goals," added the Catalan club's captain Puyol.

Barcelona's captain Carles Puyol (L) celebrates with teammate Samuel Eto'o after scoring a goal to make it 3-0 against Levski Sofia during their Champions League group stage match in Barcelona. barcelona won 4-0.

Barca took to the pitch with seven of the men who also started when the Catalans beat Arsenal 2-1 in last season's Champions League final in Paris and almost immediately showed their class.

Iniesta, a substitute in Paris opened the scoring after just six minutes with a wonderfully struck right foot shot from just outside the area after Eto'o had pulled the ball back from the penalty spot.

The heavens opened midway through the first half but the downpour didn't dampen Barca's enthusiasm for running up a big score and Giuly added their second after 39 minutes.

Eto'o again showed that not only can he score goals but he can create them as well by laying off the ball for Giuly, who was running down the right wing.

The Frenchman, perhaps with something to prove to national team coach Raymond Domenech who left him out of the World Cup squad and continues to give him the cold shoulder, hit another gear and went past two Bulgarians before finding the net.

Barcelona's Cameroonian Samuel Eto'o (R) kicks to score his team's fourth goal against Levski Sofia during their Champions League group stage match in Barcelona. Barcelona won 4-0.

Giuly nearly had another four minutes later and only the agility of Levski keeper Georgi Petkov kept the deficit down to two goals at half time.

However, Barca's fans were soon singing in the rain again when club captain Puyol scored the team's third goal four minutes after the break.

Puyol got his first goal in eight years of European football, seven of which have been Champions League campaigns, when he was on hand to slot home a loose ball after Ronaldinho's curling free kick had hit the post.

After being surprising left on the bench for Barcelona's 3-0 league win over Osasuna, some might see Puyol's improved form after some lacklustre outings as a victory for the psychological expertise of Rijkaard.

"I have a lot of respect for my team mate who took my place and accept the decision of the coach, who puts on the pitch who he feels will do the best job. That was the case on Saturday, it's the case tonight," said Puyol.

Barcelona's Andres Iniesta (L) vies with Levski Sofia's Stanislav Angelov during their Champions League group stage match in Barcelona. Barcelona won 4-0.

"We have a lot of players and because of the World Cup they started the pre-season all at different times. Nobody has played 90 minutes in our first six official games so far. There is still a diversity of physical fitness among the squad," added Rijkaard, defending his policy of rotations.

Eto'o, after doing sterling service for the rest of the team, got himself on the scoresheet just before the hour.

Deco put the ball to the feet of Eto'o just outside the area.

The three-time African Player of the Year then danced his way around a myriad of now-demoralised Levski defenders before putting the ball into the net between the legs of Elin Topuzakov and the outstretched arms of Petkov.

Petkov proved his credentials as an international goalkeeper by stopping both Eto'o and second-half substitute Eidur Gudjohnsen scoring late in the game before Ronaldinho finished off the fiesta two minutes into injury time.

"They were clearly superior. It's no coincidence that they are one of the best teams in the world," said Levski coach Stanimir Stoilov, knowing his team had been able to do little to stop Barca running rampant.

However, everyone connected with Barca also knows that their next opponents Werder Bremen will not be quite so easy to overwhelm when they travel to face the Germans in two weeks time.