Inter Vs Bodø/glimt: San Siro Shock as Norwegian Giant-Killers Reach Champions League Last 16

The Champions League tie between Inter and Bodø/Glimt ended in a stunning result as Bodø/Glimt beat Inter 2-1 at the San Siro to progress 5-2 on aggregate. Inter Vs Bodø/glimt delivered one of the competition's biggest upsets: last season's finalists are out and the Norwegian debutants have reached the last 16 for the first time.

Inter Vs Bodø/glimt: How the San Siro drama unfolded

Inter dominated the first half but could not find an early goal while Bodø/Glimt repelled most threats. A mistake by Manuel Akanji led to Jens Petter Hauge scoring the opener after Ole Didrik Blomberg charged into the box and his initial shot was kept out by Yann Sommer; Hauge volleyed the rebound home in the 58th minute. Hakon Evjen then struck to make it 2-0 in the match and 5-1 on aggregate, before Alessandro Bastoni pulled one back for Inter late on. Some Inter players dropped to the floor after Hauge's goal, realising how much harder the task had become.

Key moments that decided the tie

• First leg: Bodø/Glimt beat Inter 3-1 at the Aspmyra Stadion, a result that set the tie on its head.
• Early San Siro saves: goalkeeper Nikita Haikin tipped over Federico Dimarco's curling strike and kept out Davide Frattesi's goalbound effort, repelling the barrage of home attacks.
• 58th minute sequence: Manuel Akanji lost the ball to Ole Didrik Blomberg; Blomberg's shot was saved by Yann Sommer but Jens Petter Hauge volleyed the rebound home.
• Hakon Evjen's strike extended the aggregate lead, while Alessandro Bastoni reduced the deficit as Inter sought a comeback.
• Hauge finished with his sixth Champions League goal of the campaign — the most by a Norwegian player for a Norwegian club in a single edition.

Tactical clash: control versus chaos

The second leg at the San Siro — the so-called "Cathedral of Football" — pitched two contrasting styles. Inter, led in this context by Cristian Chivu, set up in a structured 3-5-2 intended to dominate possession with a dense midfield and three centre-backs, relying on wing-backs to provide width and crosses for the young attacker Francesco Pio Esposito. Bodø/Glimt, under Kjetil Knutsen, played an aggressive, high-speed 4-3-3 focusing on verticality and explosive transitions, waiting to force errors and strike on the break using the pace of players such as Jens Petter Hauge.

How the first leg set the tone

The first leg at the Aspmyra Stadion in northern Norway was played in freezing conditions on artificial turf. Sondre Brunstad Fet opened the scoring with a slick team move in the 20th minute; Inter equalised ten minutes later through 20-year-old Francesco Pio Esposito. The match then turned in a three-minute spell early in the second half: Inter captain Lautaro Martínez was forced off with a calf injury, Jens Petter Hauge rifled a shot into the top corner in the 61st minute, and Kasper Høgh tapped in the third in the 64th to seal a 3-1 victory for Bodø/Glimt. Lautaro Martínez suffered what is described as a serious muscle injury during the first leg and was likely to be absent for the return tie.

Context, consequences and what comes next

Bodø/Glimt's progression is particularly remarkable: they are making their Champions League debut this season and had already beaten Manchester City and Atlético Madrid in the group phase before adding Inter to that list. Inter, three-time champions of the competition, were overwhelming favourites on paper — they sit 10 points clear at the top of Serie A — and were runners-up in the 2024/25 Champions League, having lost the final to Paris Saint-Germain nine months earlier. Bodø/Glimt are still in their off-season in Norway, and the victory earns them a place in the last 16 where they will face either Manchester City or Sporting. This result leaves Inter needing a near-perfect response to avoid one of the biggest upsets in their recent history.

Fan reaction and the wider night of European football

The evening produced more than one talking point: Newcastle won an entertaining, low-stakes second leg against Qarabag. Newcastle's manager reflected that his side eased off at 2-0, that the second half became end-to-end and that there was some fatigue, calling the win a hollow one in the context of their broader aims and emphasising the need to regain domestic form. Supporters and commentators framed Bodø/Glimt's run as historic: fans noted Norway's recent sporting highs, referenced domestic winter-sports success, and highlighted how Bodø/Glimt had looked buried earlier in the campaign — two points after their first five matches and a narrow route into the knockout phase in 23rd place by two goals — before staging an extraordinary giant-killing run. Observers pointed out Bodø/Glimt are one step away from becoming only the second Norwegian club to reach the quarter-finals, following Rosenborg in 1997, and celebrated oddities such as the club sharing its name with an Amnesiac-era Radiohead b-side. The night at the San Siro will be remembered for changing expectations and reshaping the draw for the last 16.