Titleholders Inter Milan gave newcomers Tottenham a Champions League lesson on Wednesday night before the English club's young winger Gareth Bale underlined his status as one of football's most promising prospects.
Inter moved three points clear at the top of Group A after leading 4-0 inside 35 minutes, but needed to withstand a late onslaught as Wales international Bale scored a second-half hat-trick.
The Italians went ahead after just 68 seconds as captain Javier Zanetti calmly sidefooted past Heurelho Gomes from a Samuel Eto'o pass, and the Brazilian goalkeeper was sent off six minutes later for bringing down winger Jonathan Biabiany.

Eto'o buried the resulting penalty once Gomes finally departed, having been twice shown a red card, as the Cameroon striker beat replacement keeper Carlo Cudicini for his 13th goal in 12 games this season.
Inter midfielder Dejan Stankovic made it 3-0 in the 14th minute with a shot from the edge of the area as Inter's crisp passing once again bamboozled the Tottenham defense.
Eto'o, reveling in his central role in the absence of the injured Diego Milito, scored his second with a shot which deflected under Cudicini's body after he ran on to teenager Philippe Coutinho's measured throughball.
While the 18-year-old Coutinho showed his class in the first half, he was upstaged by Bale in the second.
The 21-year-old took the ball from inside his own half before lashing a fierce left-foot shot past Inter keeper Julio Cesar seven minutes after the break, and repeated the effort in the 90th minute as he easily outpaced the 37-year-old Zanetti.
Bale then sealed his first Tottenham treble with yet another left-foot shot from almost the same position after being teed up in the area by Aaron Lennon, but Inter held on for victory and seven points from three outings.
Werder Bremen boosted Tottenham's hopes of reaching the second round by coming from behind to draw 1-1 away to Dutch champions Twente, leaving both teams on on two points.
Midfielder Theo Janssen put the hosts ahead in the 75th minute, but Austrian forward Marko Arnautovic equalized against his former team five minutes later.
Barcelona, the 2009 champions, returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Copenhagen.
Argentine superstar Lionel Messi scored in each half to put the Spanish team a point clear of the previously unbeaten Danish side at the top of Group D.
David Villa hit the crossbar before the diminutive forward broke the deadlock from with a ferocious shot from just outside the area in the 19th minute, and Messi then had an effort ruled out for offside before halftime.
Barca survived a scare as Copenhagen's Dame N'Doye also smashed a shot against the bar, while Dani Alves hit the post for the Catalans before Messi sealed the win from close range right at the end.
Copenhagen are four points ahead of Rubin Kazan, with the Russian champions drawing 0-0 away to Panathinaikos to end the Greeks' run of two defeats.
Manchester United shrugged off the absence of wantaway striker Wayne Rooney to beat Turkish side Bursaspor 1-0 at home and move two points clear in Group C.
With England star Rooney out injured, Portugal midfielder Nani staked his claim to take over as the team's key player with a superb seventh-minute winner in front of a crowd of more than 72,000.
Scottish club Rangers held onto second spot after being held 1-1 at home by Valencia, with the Spanish side coming from behind to earn the draw as U.S. international Maurice Edu scored for both teams.
The midfielder nodded in a 34th-minute opener from a cross by Vladimir Weiss, but turned villain just after halftime when he headed Tino Costa's free-kick into his own net.
Lyon took control of Group B, with the French side beating 10-man Portuguese champions Benfica 2-0 for a third successive victory.
Forward Jimmy Briand headed home the opener in the 22nd minute, then the visitors had Argentine midfielder Nicolas Gaitan sent off for a second yellow card just before halftime.
Briand turned provider six minutes after the break, with Argentine forward Lisandro Lopez scoring at the second attempt after his initial header was blocked.
Veteran Spanish striker Raul helped lift Schalke's spirits as he continued his remarkable scoring run in Europe in a morale-boosting 3-1 win over Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Schalke, struggling in the German league's relegation zone, moved three points clear of Benfica with a second victory of the competition, with Raul netting twice to equal Gerd Muller's record of 68 in European club matches.
The 33-year-old Real Madrid star has now scored in 15 successive seasons, his first coming in the third minute and his second in the 58th before Jurado made it 3-0 soon after.

The Israelis managed a late consolation through Itay Shechter, but lie rock bottom after three defeats.