Inter Vs Bodø/glimt: Bodo/Glimt reach Champions League last 16 after Milan shock
inter vs bodø/glimt ended in a 2-1 win for the Norwegian visitors in Milan as Bodo/Glimt completed a 5-2 aggregate victory to reach the Champions League last 16 for the first time. The Norwegian side, based around 70 miles into the Arctic Circle, produced one of the biggest upsets in the competition after holding a 3-1 lead from the first leg.
Inter Vs Bodø/glimt: match report
Bodo/Glimt repelled numerous first-half Inter attacks at the San Siro and then struck twice in the second half to seal progression. Under sustained pressure, Ole Didrik Blomberg seized on a loose pass on the edge of the Inter area in the 58th minute and drove at goal; Yann Sommer pushed his shot away but Jens Petter Hauge reacted quickest to convert the rebound from close range. Hauge's goal was his sixth in this Champions League campaign for Bodo/Glimt.
Håkon Evjen then put the result beyond doubt in the 72nd minute, guiding a precise right-footed effort into the far bottom corner. Alessandro Bastoni pulled a goal back for Inter in the 77th minute, but that proved too late to alter the tie, which finished 5-2 on aggregate in Bodo/Glimt's favour.
How the goals unfolded
The sequence began with the visitors defending resolutely to repel Inter's early pressure, then capitalising at 58 minutes after Blomberg's run and Hauge's rebound finish. The second strike, credited to Hakon Evjen in one report and Håkon Evjen in another, arrived at 72 minutes with a composed right-footed finish. Inter reduced the deficit through Bastoni in the 77th minute but were unable to find the additional goals required; Inter had needed at least two on the night after losing the first leg 3-1.
Reactions from coaches and players
Bodo boss Kjetil Knutsen called the progression "a historical moment for Bodo and I think also for Norwegian football. " Jens Petter Hauge, back at the San Siro where he had a two-year spell at AC Milan, said: "It sounds not true, but we are there, among the last teams in the competition, " and added that "It will be really exciting to see what the next two games bring. "
Inter coach Cristian Chivu said the result was no fluke, stressing the competitiveness of the Champions League and noting that Bodo/Glimt "showed it against Dortmund, against Madrid, against City, against us twice" and describing them as "a team which has energy. " Inter midfielder Nicolò Barella said: "Bodo won both the matches, so they deserved to go through, " adding that the most difficult thing was to score and that Inter "couldn't. " Former player Jurgen Klinsmann labelled Inter's exit a "catastrophe" for the Serie A leaders in another reaction.
Team form, injuries and management
Inter reached last season's Champions League final and had notable wins over Bayern Munich and Barcelona on that run, but were beaten by Paris Saint-Germain in the final just over nine months ago and were crushed 5-0 by PSG in that match. Signs of domestic fragility included a loss to AC Milan in the Italian Cup semifinals and finishing runner-up to Napoli in Serie A last term. Simone Inzaghi was replaced by Cristian Chivu, whose only previous senior managerial position had been a few months in charge at Parma. Inter made limited transfer market moves over the close season, bringing in only Ange-Yoan Bonny, Luis Henrique, Petar Sučić and Manuel Akanji. They are 10 points clear at the top of Serie A this season but have struggled in the Champions League: the Nerazzurri won their first three continental matches before losing four on the bounce to finish the league phase in 10th, one point off automatic advancement to the round of 16.
Inter were without Lautaro Martínez and Hakan Çalhanoglu through injury for the Milan leg. The team pushed from the start and created a number of chances but were frustrated by solid defending and strong reflexes from Bodo goalkeeper Nikita Haikin.
Wider round results and records
Bodo/Glimt became the first Norwegian side to progress in a knockout-stage tie in the Champions League and the first overall in the European Cup since Lillestrom in the first round in 1987-88. They are also the first team from outside Europe's big five leagues to win four consecutive games in a European Cup/Champions League campaign against opponents from those leagues (England, Spain, Germany, Italy & France) since Ajax in 1971-72, who went on to win the European Cup that season. The fairytale run followed a league-phase run in which Bodo/Glimt failed to win their first six games, leaving them needing results against Manchester City and Atlético Madrid to reach the play-offs; they had beaten Manchester City and Atlético Madrid and drawn with Borussia Dortmund in the group phase.
Elsewhere in the round, Atlético Madrid progressed after Alexander Sørloth completed a hat-trick as Atlético won 4-1 in the second leg to make it 7-4 on aggregate against Club Brugge. 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. Bayer Leverkusen booked a last-16 spot after a 0-0 draw with Olympiakos, winning 2-0 on aggregate following a first-leg double from Patrik Schick; Leverkusen will face either Bayern Munich or Arsenal in the round of 16, with the draw set for Friday.
Archive material referenced the club's rise in a piece titled "Football in the Arctic - the incredible rise of Bodo/Glimt (from May 2025). " Bodo/Glimt's home games are often played in harsh wintry conditions, and the club now face either Manchester City or Sporting in the Champions League last 16.
Closing: Bodo/Glimt's 2-1 win in Milan completed a 5-2 aggregate victory and secured their first ever place in the Champions League last 16, a result described by their manager as a historical moment and by commentators as one of the competition's biggest upsets.
