Champions League round-up: Gervinho inspires Roma rout and Barcelona ease home

Roma striker is unrecognisable from his days at Arsenal

Gervinho (left) and Juan Iturbe celebrate Roma’s 5-1 win (GETTY IMAGES)

Gervinho tonight showed his former club Arsenal how to shine in Europe, scoring twice and setting up another as Roma thrashed CSKA Moscow 5-1 in the other game in Manchester City’s group.

Talented young Argentine striker Juan Iturbe gave Roma the lead in the sixth minute, bursting beyond a square defence to finish emphatically from Gervinho’s pass. The Ivorian then poked the ball home from near the penalty spot before Maicon’s fierce drive from the right made it three in the 20th minute.

Gervinho got his second with a superb run and finish down the same wing 11 minutes later. An own goal from Sergei Ignashevich just after half-time made it 5-0 before Ahmed Musa got a late consolation.

In the other game in Chelsea’s group, a turn and shot from on-loan Manchester United winger Nani with 10 minutes left put Sporting Lisbon ahead at Maribor, only for Luka Zahovic’s injury-time header to make it 1-1.

Barcelona made a quiet start to their campaign, as Gerard Pique’s 28th-minute header gave them a 1-0 home win over Apoel Nicosia.

Paris Saint-Germain escaped with a point from a 1-1 draw with Ajax in Amsterdam. A superb solo effort by Edinson Cavani, beating several men down the left before rounding Ajax keeper Jasper Cillessen to score from an acute angle, gave them the lead in the 14th minute.

However, Ajax equalised with 16 minutes to go when PSG keeper Salvatore Sirigu got a hand to Lasse Schöne’s 25-yard free-kick but could not keep it out.