Bodø/Glimt 3-1 Inter Milan: Bodø in touching distance of Uefa Champions League last 16 — uefa champions league tie ends 5-2 on aggregate
Bodø/Glimt completed a shock knockout-round double over Inter Milan to move within touching distance of the uefa champions league last 16, sealing a 5-2 aggregate victory after a 2-1 win at the San Siro. The Norwegian side, still in their off-season at home, produced a second-half performance that sent them through and reshaped the immediate knockout picture.
San Siro upset: 2-1 win in Italy and a 5-2 aggregate
Internazionale arrived at the San Siro needing to overturn a 3-1 deficit from the first leg, but the visitors from the Arctic Circle left Italy victorious after a 2-1 result on the night. The two-leg score finished 5-2 on aggregate, and Bodø/Glimt secured a ticket to the next round. The second-leg fixture is listed on 24/02/2026 at 8: 00 PM ET in the match schedule for the intermediate stage, 2nd leg.
Second-half swing: Hauge and Kasper Waarts Hogh strike inside three minutes
After Sondre Fet opened the scoring for Bodø on their artificial surface with a finish created by a Kasper Waarts Hogh backheel at around the 20-minute mark, Francesco Pio Esposito levelled for Inter when Carlos Augusto's header from Nicolo Barella's cross was blocked and the rebound fell to Esposito, who turned and fired home. In the second half Jens Petter Hauge and Kasper Waarts Hogh struck inside three second-half minutes, with Hogh later teeing up Hauge on the left to power a left-footed drive into the top corner on 61 minutes. Ole Didrik Blomberg then squared for Hogh to tap home Bodø's third in the tie.
Chances and near-misses: posts, saves and pressured moments
Inter applied heavy pressure at stages: Matteo Darmian hit the post before Nicolo Barella shot straight at Bodø goalkeeper Nikita Haikin. Lautaro Martinez also struck the woodwork, and Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer had to paw Hogh's drive over as the visitors threatened on the break. The match momentum measure—comparing each team’s threat minute by minute—showed swings that culminated in Bodø’s decisive counters in the second half.
Historic landmarks in the Uefa Champions League and European ties
For Bodø/Glimt it is the first time in the club’s history that they have won a knockout tie in the Uefa Champions League, a landmark achieved under manager Kjetil Knutsen. The Eliteserien side, nicknamed Superlaget (“the Super Team”), had already beaten Manchester City 3-1 and Atlético Madrid 2-1 in the league phase last month and could become the first Norwegian team to win three consecutive European Cup/UEFA Champions League matches. Inter, who have been Champions League finalists in two of the past three seasons and sit eight points clear at the top of Serie A, will mark this as a rare reverse against a side from the Arctic Circle.
Context, history and the David-vs-Goliath maths
These clubs have very limited previous European meetings: the only prior encounters between Bodø/Glimt and Internazionale came in 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 tie is just the second Uefa Champions League knockout stage meeting between a Norwegian side and an Italian side, after Juventus eliminated Rosenborg 3-1 on aggregate in the 1996-97 quarter-finals. Inter will have played in Norway in European competition only three times after this tie, the first since a 2-2 draw at Rosenborg in September 2002 and the other being a 2-1 win at Bodø/Glimt in October 1978.
Market gap, club finances and the route ahead
Data on squad values and club spending underlines the scale of the upset: Inter’s squad market value is listed at €666. 80m with Bodø/Glimt at €57. 13m, a gap noted as about €610. 2m and ranked the sixth biggest mismatch in Champions League knock-out history. The 25/26 expenditures shown list €96. 60m for Inter and €6. 00m for Bodø. The win also highlights practical contrasts: the population of Bodø is smaller than the capacity of Inter’s stadium, yet Bodø’s success at home in the Arctic Circle and now at the San Siro has carried them into contention. Bodø will now face either Manchester City, whom they have already beaten this season, or Sporting in the round of 16.
Wider knockout-round picture and other qualifiers
The knockout round playoffs are the pathway for the first teams to qualify for the round of 16. On the same matchday Newcastle United booked their spot in the round of 16 by eliminating Qarabag, and Bayer Leverkusen also qualified after eliminating Olympiacos, adding to the shifting landscape of the early knockout phase.
