Bodo Glimt Produce 'Historical Moment' in Milan, Shock Inter to Reach Champions League Last 16
bodo glimt have completed one of the competition's most startling runs, beating Inter Milan in Milan to reach the Champions League last 16 for the first time after earlier victories over Manchester City and Atletico Madrid.
Bodo Glimt's route to the last 16
Bodo/Glimt beat Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in the league phase and then eliminated Inter Milan in the knockout play-off round. The Norwegian side, based around 70 miles into the Arctic Circle, held a 3-1 lead from the first leg and then followed up with a 2-1 victory on the night in Milan to secure a 5-2 aggregate success that booked their place in the Champions League last 16 for the first time.
How the San Siro tie unfolded
In Milan the visitors repelled numerous first-half Inter attacks before scoring twice to force the Serie A leaders into too much ground to make up. Winners 2-1 on the night, Bodo/Glimt completed a home and away double over Cristian Chivu's men. Jens Petter Hauge scored the opener in the San Siro after pouncing on a mistake by Manuel Akanji, then set up Hakon Evjen for the second. The pair of goals left Inter unable to overturn the first-leg deficit and produced the decisive 5-2 aggregate outcome.
Individuals and milestones
Jens Petter Hauge was again central to the result, registering his sixth goal in the competition this season with the opener and then providing the assist for Hakon Evjen's finish. That tally is the most ever by a Norwegian player for a Norwegian club in a single edition of the European Cup/Champions League. Boss Kjetil Knutsen described the moment as historical for Bodo and for Norwegian football. The win also made Bodo/Glimt 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.
Project, history and perception
Cristian Chivu called out the dismissive laughter that greeted the tie in the press build-up and stressed that Inter respected what Bodo had achieved against Atletico, Manchester City and other big opponents. He argued that Bodo demonstrate how a healthy project and a clear set of ideas can sustain success. The club's rise in Italy is not new: five years on from a high-profile trip to Italy, Bodo made headlines again after Roma's 6-1 defeat in the Arctic Circle in 2021, a result that sparked derisory comment from Paolo Di Canio at the time. That judgment has proven misplaced as Bodo earned the right to be taken seriously after repeated European upsets.
European pedigree beyond this season
Bodo/Glimt have shown consistency in continental competition in recent seasons. They beat Roma twice in the Conference League in 2021-22, and later recorded one draw and one defeat in Rome in the quarter-finals. They also upset Lazio in the Europa League en route to the semi-finals last year. That sequence, combined with recent results, made them 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 since Ajax in 1971-72, who went on to win the European Cup that season.
Context, conditions and what comes next
Observers have pointed to Bodo/Glimt's artificial surface and the harsh, wintry conditions their home games often face at the Aspmyra Stadium as factors that have served as a leveller. The club also overcame a poor start in the league phase, having failed to win their first six league phase games and therefore needing results against Manchester City and Atletico Madrid to qualify for the play-offs. The campaign has combined resilience and tactical clarity.
With progression to the last 16 confirmed, Bodo/Glimt will face either Manchester City or Sporting in the next round. The club's culture and coach Kjetil Knutsen remain in place, and Jens Petter Hauge appears to have re-established himself after a spell away; he returned to San Siro, the stadium where he previously had a two-year spell at AC Milan, and made a significant contribution on the night. The victory left even parts of Inter's supporters subdued, with the remaining elements of the ultras in the Curva Nord notably silent as Evjen's goal made the tie unassailable.
