Uefa Champions League: Bodø/Glimt beat Inter over two legs to win 5-2 and reach last 16
Bodø/Glimt's run in the uefa champions league reached a new peak after the Norwegian side combined a 3-1 home win with a 2-1 victory at the San Siro to take the tie 5-2 on aggregate and secure a place in the round of 16.
First leg in the Arctic Circle: a 3-1 statement
In Norway, Bodø/Glimt opened the tie with a 3-1 win on their artificial surface. Sondre Fet finished after a Kasper Waarts Hogh backheel to put Bodø ahead after 20 minutes. Inter pushed back: Matteo Darmian hit the post and Nicolo Barella shot straight at goalkeeper Nikita Haikin. Inter’s pressure produced a goal when Carlos Augusto's header from a Barella cross was blocked and Francesco Pio Esposito turned and fired home to level the game.
Late in that match Jens Petter Hauge and Kasper Waarts Hogh struck inside three second-half minutes to settle the game after Esposito had cancelled out Fet's opener. Lautaro Martinez hit the post for Inter, and Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer touched Hogh's drive over, but Bodø finished the first leg ahead.
Uefa Champions League: San Siro follow-up and aggregate triumph
Bodø/Glimt travelled to the San Siro with a 3-1 cushion and left Italy victorious after a 2-1 win in the second leg, completing a 5-2 aggregate victory. The Norwegian side had already beaten Manchester City (3-1) and Atlético Madrid (2-1) in the league phase, and the two-leg success over Inter marks the club’s first-ever win in a Champions League knock-out tie.
The second-leg win at the San Siro came in a fixture listed as intermediate stage 2nd leg | Tue, 24/02/2026 | 8: 00 PM hours (24/02/26 8: 00 PM hours).
A historic upset and context around the tie
Manager Kjetil Knutsen’s Superlaget upset a club that had been Champions League finalists in two of the past three seasons and that sits eight points clear at the top of Serie A. The visitors’ victory over Inter is part of a broader narrative: Bodø had reached the Europa League semi-finals last season and are now through to the Champions League last 16.
Transfermarkt’s figures underline the scale of the upset. One comparison lists Inter’s market value at €666. 80m and Bodø/Glimt’s at €57. 13m; another lists Inter at €667. 3m and Bodø at €57. 1m, a €610. 2m gap. That gap places this tie among the biggest mismatches in Champions League history, put at sixth in a published comparison; the 2023/24 season saw Lazio beating Bayern (€734. 8m) ranked third and Porto’s 1-0 win over Arsenal (€857. 9m) ranked first in that particular list. The club’s population is smaller than the capacity of the Italian giant's stadium.
Broader European picture and past meetings
This knockout-round playoff was part of a slate of matches that could send the first teams through to the round of 16. Newcastle United booked their spot in the round of 16 by eliminating Qarabag, and Bayer Leverkusen also advanced after eliminating Olympiacos.
Historically, Bodø/Glimt and Internazionale had only met in the 1978-79 Cup Winners’ Cup, when the Italian side won both legs for a 7-1 aggregate victory (5-0 at home, 2-1 away). This tie is only the second UEFA Champions League knockout stage tie played between sides from Norway and Italy, following Juventus’ elimination of Rosenborg in the quarter-finals of the 1996-97 edition (3-1 on aggregate). Internazionale have now played European matches in Norway only twice before: a 2-1 win at Bodø/Glimt in October 1978 and a 2-2 draw at Rosenborg in September 2002; this tie marks their third trip to Norway for European competition.
What’s next
Bodø/Glimt will now await the name of their round-of-16 opponent; they are set to face either Manchester City, whom they beat earlier this season, or Sporting in the next stage. The club moves on from a two-legged tie that began with a 3-1 home win and ended with a 2-1 victory at the San Siro, completing a 5-2 aggregate and booking a place in the Champions League last 16.
