Chelsea eased to a 4-0 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv in its opening Group G match in the Champions League on Wednesday, but the performance at Stamford Bridge was not as convincing as the scoreline.
Willian and Oscar hit the back of the net in the first half, before a brilliant finish from Diego Costa and a late Cesc Fabregas goal rounded off the scoring.
The result was emphatic but the display was ponderous, particularly in the first half when Eden Hazard, usually Chelsea's most dangerous player, missed a penalty and routinely lost possession for his team.
But after a tumultuous start to the season, which has seen Jose Mourinho's side lose three of its opening five games, the Chelsea manager cared more about the confidence-boosting result than the performance.
"For so long we don't win a game, I forgot the feeling," Mourinho said. "I know what you are thinking, we did not beat Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich but. I can imagine how difficult it would be for everyone to wake up after a defeat.
"When you start the game you have to win and after five minutes, miss a penalty, it was a good test. I was pleased with the reaction."
The game began badly for Mourinho, who made six changes to the team beaten 3-1 by Everton on Saturday. Captain John Terry was demoted to the bench alongside regular starters Costa, Branislav Ivanovic and Nemanja Matic.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Matic's replacement in central midfield, was booked after 58 seconds for a rash high-footed challenge on Nikola Mitrovic.
Mourinho was fuming at the referee's decision to bring out the yellow card so quickly and four minutes later, he was even angrier at the officiating by Felix Zwayer when Willian was brought down in the penalty area by onrushing goalkeeper Pedrag Rajkovic.
Zwayer pointed to the spot but only booked Rajkovic, leaving Mourinho incredulous.
Hazard stepped up to take the penalty and despite being renowned for his composure from the spot, he uncharacteristically blazed his effort high over the crossbar, into the jubilant Maccabi fans behind the goal.
But the miss did not deter Chelsea, which continued to enjoy possession, albeit while looking toothless in attack.
When the breakthrough finally came, it was fortunate. Willian's free-kick from the left looped over his teammates in the penalty area and bounced beyond the reach of Rajkovic in the 15th minute.
Maccabi should have equalised in the 31st, when the Chelsea defense had lapse in concentration from an inswinging cross, but captain Eran Zahavi looped a header over the crossbar.
Costa, who replaced the injured Willian in the 23rd minute, won another penalty on the stroke of halftime after Tal Ben Haim tripped him.
Hazard did not step up this time; instead Oscar took the ball and sent Rajkovic the wrong way with a low effort to his left.
Any doubts of victory were removed by Costa in the 58th minute as he guided a Fabregas delivery in off the crossbar with a sumptuous strike on the turn.
Fabregas completed the scoring on 78, finishing off a sweeping counterattack.
The night's other Group G match finished as a 2-2 draw between Dynamo Kiev and Porto.
Florenzi long-range goal gives Roma 1-1 draw with Barcelona
Alessandro Florenzi scored an incredible goal from near the halfway line to earn Roma a 1-1 draw against title-holder Barcelona in Group E of the Champions League on Wednesday.
There was also some questionable conduct from Luis Suarez in an entertaining match at the Stadio Olimpico.
After an opening goal from Suarez, Florenzi's equalizer came just after the half-hour mark.
Two strides after dribbling past the halfway line on the right flank, Florenzi looked up and saw goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen far out of his goal and launched a shot from more than 60 meters (yards) over the German's head that went in off the post.
"It will be something to remember," Florenzi said. "It's not something that happens often."
In the 21st, Suarez met a cross from Ivan Rakitic by the far post and headed into an empty net. Roma protested for a perceived foul moments earlier by Lionel Messi on Lucas Digne.
Messi, making his 100th Champions League appearance, hit the crossbar in the 78th — the closest either side came to a winner.
Suarez, who gained notoriety for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at last year's World Cup, later appeared to kick Roma goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny in the chest after being denied by the Poland international.
It's not the first time ter Stegen has conceded a goal while out of position this season.
It also happened in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup against Athletic Bilbao, when Mikel San Jose lobbed a long clearance back over the goalkeeper's head with a shot from inside the center circle.
"You can concede a goal when you least expect it, as we showed," said Barcelona coach Luis Enrique, who managed Roma for the 2011-12 season. "But it was a very good match for Barcelona and I'm very satisfied with what I saw on the pitch."
In the other Group E match, Bayer Leverkusen beat BATE Borisov 4-1.
"It's a draw that's worth as much as a victory," Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi said.
Barcelona won four of six away games in last season's competition, going on to beat Juventus in the final. But defeating Italian clubs on the road has been a different story.
Barcelona has won just one of their last seven matches in Italy — 3-2 at AC Milan in the 2011-12 group stage. Their overall record from 20 away matches against Serie A sides is six wins, eight draws and six losses.
Roma, meanwhile, appears vastly improved from last season when it was routed 7-1 at home by Bayern Munich. The Giallorossi already beat four-time defending champion Juventus 2-1 in Serie A. With an impressive array of new players in Edin Dzeko, Iago Falque, Mohamed Salah and Szczesny, Rudi Garcia's club now looks for real in Europe, too.
"We've improved," Roma coach Garcia said. "The experience we had last year in the Champions League helped."
Still, it was a nervous start for Roma as Messi made his presence known immediately with a warning shot four minutes in that went a whisker over the bar.
Roma showed composure as Dzeko evaded two defenders near midfield and dribbled all the way into Barca's area before coughing the ball up directly to a defender.
Suarez may have had a case for a penalty when Szczesny made contact with the center forward in the 24th, but the referee ruled to play on.
With the sold-out crowd coming to life after Florenzi's goal, Roma was more energized and just before halftime Salah raced on to a long ball and beat two defenders, but shot off mark.
Roma's reserve goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis replaced Szczesny after the Poland international appeared to injure his right hand while stopping Suarez early in the second half.
Messi, Suarez and Neymar each produced more chances for Barcelona, and an inspired Florenzi missed a good opportunity in the 76th.
Messi's shot off the bar came two minutes later, with an expert volley after the ball bounced off the thigh of defender Antonio Rudiger.
De Sanctis did the rest, saving a dangerous effort from Sergi Roberto in added time, seconds after Kostas Manolas headed away danger.
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Wednesday's Champions League Results
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Group E
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Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) 4, BATE (Belarus) 1
Roma (Italy) 1, Barcelona (Spain) 1
Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) 2, Arsenal (England) 1
Olympiakos (Greece) 0, Bayern Munich (Germany) 3
Chelsea (England) 4, Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) 0
Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine) 2, FC Porto (Portugal) 2
Gent (Belgium) 1, Lyon (France) 1
Valencia (Spain) 2, Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia) 3