Bayern Munich's Dutch playmaker Arjen Robben is mobbed by his teammates after scoring the opening goal against AS Roma in the Italian capital. The German champions would go on to score six more.
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(CNN) -- The message will have been heard loud and clear across Europe.
Bayern Munich, themselves on the end of a thrashing in the European Champions League semifinals last year, dished out one of its own on Tuesday.
The German champions, led by former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, raced into a five-goal lead over Italian side AS Roma in their group stages clash, with just 36 minutes on the clock.
It was a devastating display of attacking football that left the thousands of fervent fans gathered in Rome's Olympic Stadium shell shocked.
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Except, of course, for those 5,000 supporters who had made the trip from Germany.
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Guardiola is aiming for a hat-trick of Champions League triumphs after securing two during his four-year spell at the Spanish giants.
And if it carries on like this, Bayern will prove a tough nut to crack in the competition's latter stages.
The rout began on eight minutes, Dutch international Arjen Robben cutting inside former Chelsea defender Ashley Cole to bend a shot into the far corner.
Mario Gotze, whose winning goal sealed a World Cup triumph for Germany in Brazil, made it two after swapping passes with international teammate Thomas Muller.
Poland striker Robert Lewandowski made it 3-0 with a fine header from Juan Bernat's cross before Robben grabbed another, similar to his opener.
When Kostas Manolas was adjudged to have handled inside his own area, Muller stroked home the penalty to make it 5-0 in front of a stunned stadium.
Things did improve for Roma in the second half as Ivory Coast midfielder Gervinho got them on the scoresheet with a close range header, but it was only a brief respite.
Substitute Franck Ribery made it six, clipping the ball into the net after a precise through ball from Robben, before another sub -- Xherdan Shaqiri -- made it seven from close range.
It brought back painful memories for Roma of another seven-goal mauling, when it lost by the same scoreline to English side Manchester United back in 2007.
Bayern's third win from three outings saw it take firm control of Group E, with Roma second on four points.
Roma boss Rudy Garcia said: "We collapsed tactically and in terms of our aggressiveness. We let them play and they're too good for that. I was the first to make mistakes; it's not the players' fault."
"It's Rome," jokes James Pallotta, the president of AS Roma, explaining his decision to invest in the Italian football club.
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Mario Balotelli has had a low key start to his Liverpool career after a big-money move from Italian giants AC Milan. The English club finished runner-up in the Premier League last season but have stuttered so far, losing six of its 13 competitive fixtures.
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Incredibly, Bayern's 45 minute heroics were bettered by Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk, who raced into a 6-0 lead over BATE Borisov in Belarus at halftime to set a new Champions League record.
Shakhtar went on to win 7-0, Brazilian striker Luiz Adriano becoming only the second player to score five goals in a Champions League game, after Barcelona's Lionel Messi.
Those 15 goals across two matches helped bump Tuesday's tally to 40 across the eight games, a new record for the continent's most lucrative club competition.
News of Bayern's triumph will have provided succor for Manchester City, who were stunned by a late CSKA Moscow equalizer in Group E's other encounter, in Russia.
For the second time in a month its 18,600 capacity Arena Khimki was closed to fans after sanctions from European soccer's governing body relating to incidents of racism.
A controversial late penalty from Bebars Natcho canceled out goals from Sergio Aguero and James Milner meaning the star-studded Premier League holders now face an uphill task to qualify from its group.
The match was played out in sub zero temperatures and in front of just a handful of spectators after UEFA decreed CSKA's stadium must be closed to fans for its next three European games.
UEFA charged the club with racism for the third time in a year after troubled flared among its fans during CSKA's defeat to AS Roma in September.
The first came almost a year ago, when City's Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure was subject to racist chanting from the stands.
Toure reacted furiously saying at some point UEFA had to ban a club "for a couple of years." CSKA hit back, saying the incident had been "very exaggerated."
There were no such flashpoints on Tuesday, given only a clutch of people were present to witness another poor European performance from City.
It had eased into a two-goal lead inside 38 first half minutes as it looked to register a first win in this season's competition.
A ball over the top from David Silva put Edin Dzeko in on goal and he unselfishly squared for Argentina striker Aguero to tap into an empty net. Less than 10 minutes later, Aguero's shot from inside the box fell perfectly for England international Milner to slide in and convert.
But as the match wore on City retreated, and after Ivory Coast international Seydou Doumbia had polished off a Ahmed Musa cross, he enticed Aleksandar Kolarov into a clumsy tackle, allowing Natcho to tuck home the penalty.
When asked how City had let its lead slip, manager Manuel Pellegrini told Sky Sports: "Because football is 95 minutes, we have scored two goals and had clear chances to score more but we didn't.
"I don't want to talk about the referee. We have nine more points to play and I am confident we will qualify."
Elsewhere, Lionel Messi moved within two goals of Raul's all-time Champions League scoring record with Barcelona's second goal in its 3-1 win over Dutch side Ajax.
Neyamr scored the opening goal before the Argentina struck his 69th Champions League goal, Sandro RamÃrez adding a late third.
English Premier League leaders Chelsea thrashed NK Maribor of Slovenia 6-0 at Stamford Bridge, Didier Droga scoring his first goal for the club since rejoining prior to the start of the season. Eden Hazard netted twice.
An 87th minute strike from Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani helped French champions Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-0 victory over Apoel Nicosia in Cyprus.
A goal in the dying seconds from Eric Choupo-Moting sealed a 4-3 success for German club Schalke in a epic encounter with Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon.
But there was better news for Portugal as Porto registered a 2-1 victory over Spanish outfit Athletic Bilbao, courtesy of Ricardo Quaresma's winner.
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Striker Robert Lewandowski plants a header into the net to make it 4-0 to Bayern. Pep Guardiola's side would go onto to lead 5-0 at halftime and run out 7-1 winners.
But believe it or not, Bayern's feat of scoring five first half goals was bettered -- by Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk. They smashed six past hapless BATE Borisov in Belarus before the interval to set a new Champions League record.
Lionel Messi fired home Barcelona's second goal against Dutch side Ajax, taking him within two goals of Raul's all-time Champions League scoring record of 71. Barca would go on to win 3-1.
Manchester City raced into a two-goal lead in its clash with CSKA Moscow, played behind closed doors after the Russian club were found guilty of racism among its fans. Here, midfielder James Milner celebrates his goal with its creator, Sergio Aguero, who grabbed City's first.
But CSKA reduced the deficit thanks to a goal just after the hour mark from Ivory Coast international Seydou Doumbia before Israeli striker Bebars Natcho slotted home a late penalty to ensure the match ended 2-2.
American Pallotta has some ambitious plans for the Italian football club.
Pallotta wants to capitalise on Rome's historic past, but the Bostonian also has a vision for the future, notably building a new stadium for the Serie A team.
The new Roma Stadium is set to open in time for the 2016/17 season. The club will move away from the Stadio Olimpico which was opened in 1953.
The capacity at the new stadium will be 52,000 but can be enlarged to 60,000 if required. It will have parking for 7,000 cars and will be supported by the local metro station.
The stadium will be flanked by a new training center which will be used by the first team as well as the youth players.
Fans will be able to visit Roma village where there will be a number of bars, shops and restaurants before making their way to the stadium.
The new 'Curva Sud' will house the team's hardcore fans has space for 13,660 supporters.
Francesco Totti is a Roma legend and the 38-year-old has spent his entire career with the club.
Totti made his debut for Roma at the age of 16 and is still a key member of Rudi Garcia's team.
Garcia is forging a reputation as one of the most impressive coaches in European football. Since joining from French club Lille in June 2013, Garcia has helped take Roma to the next level with a series of encouraging displays.
Roma striker Gervinho (left) celebrates with teammate Miralem Pjanic. Both players have blossomed under Garcia's tutelage.
Part footballing superstar, part global brand; Ronaldo is adding Facebook fans at the rate of nearly one over second, 54 per minute on average.
The Real Madrid and Portugal star is regarded as one of the finest players ever to play the game and is also on top of the world in Twitter terms with over 30 million followers on the micro-blogging site.
Ronaldo's combination of talent good looks and social profile make him an attractive commodity for global brand names and companies, says Max Barnett, UK head of digital, at sports market research firm Repucom UKI.
The next best tally in terms of sporting Facebook likes is not an individual but a club in the shape of FC Barcelona. The Catalan institution has over 76 million 'likes'.
AC Milan and Brazil superstar, Kaka, has 20 million followers on Twitter. A phenomenal tally but still 10 million less than his former Real Madrid teammate, Ronaldo.
Ronaldo's popularity on social media even dwarfs that of his employer, Real Madrid, which has 74 million Facebook 'likes' and 13.1 million Twitter followers.
LeBron James has the third most popular profile for a singular sports star on Twitter with 15.3 million followers. The NBA superstar also trails on the Facebook front with his account 'liked' by 21.6 million people.
Balotelli has failed to scored a goal in those 13 matches for his new club after a move reported to be worth $25 million. "We got to a point when we were looking for a different kind of player and he was looking for a different challenge," Milan director Umberto Gandini told CNN of Balotelli's departure from Milan.
Balotelli has also shown flashes of the temper that have punctuated his career since returning to England -- confronting West Ham United goalkeeper Adrian during Liverpool's 3-1 defeat in September.
Balotelli's first stint in England came with current Premier League champions Manchester City between August 2010 and January 2013. Perhaps his defining moment in sky blue came when he scored during City's 6-1 derby demolition of Manchester United and revealed a t-shirt that read "Why always me?"
Balotelli has 33 caps for Italy, scoring 13 goals, the last being his winner in the 2014 World Cup group stage clash against England. But that be would the Azzurri's only success in Brazil, as they suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica before another one goal defeat -- to Uruguay -- eliminated them.
After the World Cup, Balotelli failed to make two Italy squads, perhaps reflecting his indifferent form for Liverpool, though he was recalled in November, before picking an injury on international duty.
Balotelli burst onto the scene with AC Milan's city neighbors Internazionale in December 2007. He had a fractious relationship with then Inter boss Jose Mourinho, leaving for Manchester City in 2010 after scoring 20 goals in 59 matches for the club.
Balotelli's move from City to AC Milan angered Inter fans, who share a stadium with its city rivals. Gandini hailed Balotelli's contribution in his first season at the club as his goal helped it make the European Champions League.
But after just one full campaign with the club Balotelli was on the move for the fourth time in his fledgling career, his new manager Brendan Rodgers admitting signing the striker was a "calculated risk," given his disciplinary problems and off-field antics.
Gandini said of the mercurial player: "The expectation was probably bigger (at AC Milan), and I think also his expectations, and he has not reached the status yet where he can carry the club. Until he will do that he won't be able to fulfill his promises. I hope he does fulfill his potential, for him, for Liverpool and for the national team."
