Inter Vs Bodø/glimt: Bodo/Glimt complete shock 5-2 aggregate win to reach Champions League last 16

In a dramatic knockout play-off tie described as one of the competition’s biggest shocks, inter vs bodø/glimt ended with Bodo/Glimt defeating Inter Milan 2-1 in Milan and 5-2 on aggregate, sending the Norwegians into the Champions League last 16 for the first time. The result removes last season’s finalists and leaves questions for Inter as Bodo/Glimt continue a remarkable debut campaign.

How the San Siro tie turned: key moments from the second leg

Bodo/Glimt’s 2-1 win in Milan completed home-and-away victories after their 3-1 first-leg success in Norway, producing a 5-2 aggregate. Inter dominated the first half but could not find an early goal. The tie’s decisive sequence began in the 58th minute when Manuel Akanji lost the ball and Ole Didrik Blomberg seized on a loose pass at the edge of the Inter area, drove into the box and saw his shot pushed away by Yann Sommer before Jens Petter Hauge reacted to volley home the rebound.

Hauge’s intervention at San Siro stunned the stadium; some Inter players dropped to the floor after that goal as the task of overturning the deficit became even harder.

Inter Vs Bodø/glimt: the finish — Evjen, Bastoni and the clincher

Håkon Evjen made the tie all but over in the 72nd minute with a precise right-footed effort into the far bottom corner, taking the visitors 2-0 in the match and 5-1 on aggregate at that point. Alessandro Bastoni pulled a goal back for Inter in the 77th minute, but it proved too late to alter the outcome. Bodo/Glimt held on to progress to the last 16.

Goalkeeping, defending and the moments that mattered

Inter peppered the Bodo goal in the first half, with Bodo/Glimt’s goalkeeper Nikita Haikin making two early crucial saves: tipping over Federico Dimarco’s curling strike and keeping out Davide Frattesi’s goalbound effort. Yann Sommer’s initial stop from Blomberg’s run in the second half was followed by Hauge’s quick finish from the rebound. The sequence began with Manuel Akanji’s mistake and ended with Hauge’s finish.

That finish was Hauge’s sixth Champions League goal this term, the most by a Norwegian player for a Norwegian club in a single edition of the competition.

Bodo/Glimt’s rise: geography, history and playing circumstances

The tiny club from the Arctic Circle has completed a run that will send shockwaves across Europe. Bodo/Glimt are the northernmost team ever to play in the Champions League and are based in the small town of Bodo, a 16-hour drive north of Oslo on the edge of the Arctic Circle; the town’s population is 55, 000. The club were in Norway’s second tier as recently as 2017 and operate on a budget that is a fraction of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Remarkably, Kjetil Knutsen’s side reached the last 16 as tournament debutants while they remain in their off-season—the Norwegian top-flight, the Eliteserien, ended on 30 November 2025 because of winter and will resume in mid-March. Bodo/Glimt also boast an outstanding record on the artificial surface at their 9, 000-capacity Aspmyra Stadion.

Kjetil Knutsen, squad identity and historic context

Head coach Kjetil Knutsen, who has been in charge since 2018, has overseen the club’s rapid rise; he has been linked with several major jobs, has turned down offers and recently signed a contract until 2029. The team’s close-knit, team-first environment is often cited as a key ingredient behind their run. Knutsen said, “Can you believe it, huh?” and added, “A team from a small town up north, it’s unbelievable and today was a special game. ” A further comment in the provided context is unclear in the provided context.

On a wider historical note, Bodo/Glimt are the first Norwegian side to win a knockout tie in the European Cup or Champions League since 1987-88. They are also the first team outside England, Spain, Germany, Italy or France to win four consecutive games against teams from Europe’s big five leagues since Johan Cruyff’s Ajax in 1971-72; Ajax went on to win the European Cup that season.

Consequences across the competition: Inter, Atlético and Leverkusen

The 5-2 aggregate defeat raises difficult questions for Inter, who are three-time European champions and were sitting 10 points clear at the top of Serie A, positions that had made them overwhelming favourites for the knockout play-off. Bodo/Glimt’s victory adds Inter to a list of major opponents they have beaten this season, having already beaten Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in the group phase.

Elsewhere in the competition, Alexander Sørloth’s hat-trick helped Atlético Madrid to a 4-1 win in their second leg and a 7-4 aggregate victory; on the night Sørloth fired Atlético in front in the 23rd minute, Joel Ordóñez levelled 13 minutes later, Johnny Cardoso put Atlético 2-1 early in the second half and Sørloth completed his hat-trick with goals in the final 15 minutes. Atlético will now face either Liverpool or Tottenham in the last 16. Bayer Leverkusen, who had Patrik Schick’s double in the first leg, earned a 0-0 draw with Olympiakos to book their last-16 spot with a 2-0 aggregate win and will face either Bayern Munich or Arsenal; the draw will take place on Friday.

Bodo/Glimt will face either Manchester City or Sporting in the last 16 as they prepare to celebrate a historic progression in this Champions League campaign.