Last season’s beaten finalists looked to be a trickier proposition when Dimitar Berbatov leapt unchallenged to meet a Marko Babic corner after 39 minutes to open the scoring.

But Barca levelled just three minutes into the second half when Javier Saviola netted after a mistake from fellow Argentinian Diego Placente.

Juan Roman Riquelme, who is now wholly owned by Barca after the Nou Camp side bought out the remaining 50% of his contract from Boca Juniors this week, then missed a penalty.

However, Dutchman Marc Overmars spared his team-mate any post-match recrimination when he finished a well-worked move with a low shot which gave Hans-Jorg Butt no chance.

Leverkusen, stripped of their best player Michael Ballack over the summer, are struggling in the Bundesliga.

They had fared better in the Champions League, advancing to the second round behind Manchester United.

However, with Inter Milan cruising to a 4-1 win over Newcastle in the group’s other game, both they and Sir Bobby Robson’s men will do well to stay in the competition.

A late Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal looked set to give Ajax a surprise win over Valencia at the Mestalla until Miguel Angulo netted a stoppage-time equaliser.

While Arsenal and Thierry Henry were inflicting a 3-1 defeat on Roma, Ronald Koeman’s men fought a brave rearguard action against their dominant hosts.

The Amsterdam club have put together probably their best side since they won the competition in 1995 while Valencia, finalists twice in the last three years, are looking to go one better this season.

Ajax, led by an inspired performance from captain Cristian Chivu, took the lead with just two minutes left when Ibrahimovic collected a Rafael van der Vaart through-ball before firing low past Santiago Canizares.

But Valencia showed all the experience they have earned in recent seasons to earn a share of the points when Angulo scored through a crowd of players in the final minute.

The result means Arsenal top the group ahead of Valencia and Ajax.