Dirk Kuyt ensured his side got off to the perfect start as he fired home in the fifth minute before Robbie Keane scored his first goal for the club after 11 blank games since his £20million move from Tottenham.

Steven Gerrard grabbed his 100th Liverpool goal to seal the victory 14 minutes from time and ensure that Danny Koevermans effort two minutes later was nothing more than a consolation.

Liverpool's upcoming double header against Atletico Madrid is now a mouthwatering prospect after the Spanish side triumphed 2-1 over Marseille to leave them with maximum points as well.

All the goals came in an action-packed opening 22 minutes at the Vicente Calderon, with strikes from Sergio Aguero and Raul Garcia for the home side sandwiching an equaliser from Mamadou Niang.

Barcelona also look likely to qualify for the next round after two late goals from substitute Lionel Messi sealed a dramatic 2-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk to see the Catalan giants maintain their 100% start in Champions League Group C.

Ilsinho's goal at the end of the first half looked to have secured the points for the hosts, but Argentina winger Messi struck twice in the last four minutes to turn the match on its head and put Barca in a strong position.

The Primera Liga side are now three points ahead of both Shakhtar and Sporting Lisbon after the Portuguese side saw off Basel 2-0 on Wednesday thanks to two huge slices of fortune.

With both sides having lost their opening fixture there was much riding on the game, and Basel deserved better than to fall behind by virtue of a freak Leandro Romagnoli goal after 55 minutes.

Vanderlei Derlei then sealed the points with a scuffed strike four minutes from time, meaning the Swiss side face an uphill struggle if they are to salvage anything from their campaign.

CFR Cluj could be surprise contenders to qualify from a tough Group A after a goaless draw against Chelsea left them with four points from their opening two games.

Chelsea escaped a distinctly uncomfortable night in Transylvania but will be more worried over the fitness of Didier Drogba who was carried off on a stretcher with an apparent knee injury early in the second half.

A point behind the pair are Roma who breathed new life into their campaign as Julio Baptista grabbed a second-half double to help them come from behind and secure a 3-1 win against 10-man Bordeaux.

The Italian side were dreadful in the opening hour of a scrappy match and deservedly went behind when Yoann Gourcuff curled home a superb 20-yarder in the 15th minute.

But the contest turned on the 36th-minute sending-off of Les Girondins centre-back Henrique, for a sly elbow on Simone Perrotta, and Roma eventually woke from their torpor.

Mirko Vucinic levelled matters just after the hour mark and substitute Baptista bagged a brace in the final 20 minutes to seal the win at the Stade Chaban-Delmas.

Elsewhere, Claudio Pizarro came back to haunt his former boss as he helped Werder Bremen to a share of the points in a thrilling Group B clash at the San Siro.

Maicon fired Internazionale into an early lead in the 13th minute as the Nerazzurri attack threatened to overrun Bremen.

But the Germans slowly began to get a foothold in the game and the hosts were made to rue their sackful of missed opportunities when Pizarro, who Inter boss Jose Mourinho managed at Chelsea, netted a deserved equaliser just after the hour mark and almost bagged a winner right at the death.

Anorthosis Famagusta continued their stunning start to the Champions League by claiming a 3-1 victory over Panathinaikos in Nicosia.

Temuri Ketsbaia's side, who produced a determined display to earn a point in a goalless draw against Werder Bremen two weeks ago, stunned Pana by surging into a two-goal lead in the first half courtesy of Josu Sarriegi's own goal and a Sinisa Dobrasinovic header.

Dimitris Salpigidis pulled a goal back from the penalty spot in the 28th minute, but the Cypriots, who beat Olympiacos in the qualifiers, added a third 12 minutes from time through substitute Hawar Taher to seal another famous victory over Greek opponents.