Uefa Champions League giant-killers: What Bodø/Glimt’s 3-1 win over Inter Milan means for underdog fans and European outsiders

Bodø/Glimt’s 3-1 victory over Inter Milan leaves a clear message for followers of the uefa champions league: established status and budgets do not guarantee knockout success. The Norwegian side — still in their off season at home — took a first-leg advantage that puts them within touching distance of the last 16, and the outcome reshapes expectations for knockout round playoffs where the first teams can secure round-of-16 places.

Uefa Champions League ripple for underdog supporters and smaller leagues

Here’s the part that matters for fans outside the usual elite: a club nicknamed Superlaget ("the Super Team") has beaten multiple high-profile opponents and carried momentum into a second-leg trip to the San Siro. Kjetil Knutsen’s Bodø/Glimt have already beaten Manchester City and Atlético Madrid in recent matches, and their final two games in the league phase were wins of 3-1 against Manchester City and 2-1 against Atlético Madrid. That run places them on the cusp of a breakthrough few Norwegian teams have reached.

Match details and decisive moments from the first leg

Bodø/Glimt took the lead after 20 minutes on their artificial surface when Kasper Waarts Hogh backheeled the ball for Sondre Fet to finish. Inter responded: Matteo Darmian hit the post and Nicolo Barella shot straight at Bodo goalkeeper Nikita Haikin. Carlos Augusto’s header from a Barella cross was blocked, and Francesco Pio Esposito turned and fired home to cancel Fet’s opener.

In the second half Jens Petter Hauge and Kasper Waarts Hogh struck inside three second-half minutes — Hogh first teeing up Hauge for a left-footed power finish into the top corner, then Ole Didrik Blomberg squaring the ball for Hogh to tap home a third. Lautaro Martinez hit the post for Inter later and Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer touched Hogh’s drive over, but Inter were made to look ordinary by Bodø in the Arctic Circle despite their domestic strength.

What’s easy to miss is the match’s momentum narrative: match momentum measures the swing of a game by comparing each team’s threat to identify who is more likely to score in a given minute, and in this contest Bodø’s dangerous moments outweighed Inter’s at key phases.

Stage context, history and the wider scoreboard of mismatches

This tie is an intermediate stage 2nd leg and will be replayed at the San Siro; one schedule note listed the return fixture as Tue, 24/02/2026 at 8: 00 PM hours (also shown as 24/02/26 8: 00 PM hours). Internazionale face the task of overturning a 3-1 deficit on home soil. Other matches running in the same window include Newcastle hosting Qarabag and Bayer Leverkusen hosting Olympiacos.

The two clubs’ prior European meetings date back to the 1978-79 Cup Winners’ Cup when the Italian side won both legs for a 7-1 aggregate (5-0 at home, 2-1 away). This will be just the second UEFA Champions League knockout stage tie played between sides from Norway (Bodø/Glimt) and Italy (Internazionale), following Juventus’ elimination of Rosenborg in the 1996-97 quarter-finals (3-1 on aggregate). Internazionale will play a European match in Norway for only the third time: a 2-1 win at Bodø/Glimt in October 1978 and a 2-2 draw at Rosenborg in September 2002 are the prior two occasions.

Market-value gap, upset rankings and what could confirm a true giant-killing

Transfer-value comparisons underline the David-vs-Goliath framing. One set of figures lists Inter’s market value at €666. 80m and Bodø/Glimt at €57. 13m; another set shows Inter at €667. 3m and Bodø/Glimt at €57. 1m, a difference cited around €610. 2m. That gap places the tie among the largest market-value mismatches in Champions League knockout history, ranked sixth in one analysis, and follows other large disparities such as Lazio vs Bayern (€734. 8m) and Porto vs Arsenal (€857. 9m) in recent seasons. Past precedent shows the higher-valued side usually advances, but there are notable exceptions: Lyon overcame Manchester City in 2019-20 despite being some €701. 2m lower in market value.

• Bodø/Glimt are still in their Norwegian off season but defeated Inter 3-1 at home.
• Goals: Sondre Fet opened; Francesco Pio Esposito equalised; Jens Petter Hauge and Kasper Waarts Hogh scored in quick succession in the second half; Ole Didrik Blomberg supplied Hogh’s third.
• Key near-misses for Inter: Matteo Darmian and Lautaro Martinez hit the post; Nicolo Barella’s shot was saved by Nikita Haikin; Yann Sommer made a stop on Hogh’s drive.
• Historic context: previous meetings in 1978-79 Cup Winners’ Cup ended 7-1 to the Italian side; only a handful of Inter matches have been played in Norway (1978, 2002).
• Timing: the pair meet again in an intermediate stage 2nd leg scheduled for 24/02/2026 at 8: 00 PM hours (return leg at the San Siro).

The real question now is whether Bodø/Glimt can translate home advantage and momentum into a historic away result that would make them the first Norwegian side to win three consecutive European Cup/UEFA Champions League matches. If they do, it would also mark the club’s first-ever knockout tie win in this competition.

Key signals that would confirm a shift: Inter overturning the deficit at the San Siro, Bodø holding or extending the lead away, or repeated strong performances by Bodø against high-value squads. These outcomes will clarify whether this is a one-off shock or the start of a sustained underdog run.

It’s easy to overlook, but the combination of Bodø’s off-season timing, artificial home surface and recent wins over major opponents has amplified the surprise of this result; each of those elements matters when judging whether the upset can be repeated away from home.