Bodo Glimt complete 'historical moment' with shock win over Inter Milan
bodo glimt delivered one of the biggest upsets in Champions League history with a 2-1 victory at San Siro on Tuesday night, completing a 5-2 aggregate win that sends the Norwegian side into the last 16 for the first time.
Bodo Glimt survive San Siro test
The visitors, based around 70 miles into the Arctic Circle, defended strongly in the first half in Milan and struck twice after the break to finish the job. Ole Didrik Blomberg seized on a loose pass on the edge of the Inter area in the 58th minute, drove at goal and saw his shot pushed away by Yann Sommer; Jens Petter Hauge reacted quickest to convert the rebound from close range for the opener. Håkon Evjen then guided a precise right-footed finish into the far bottom corner in the 72nd minute to put the tie beyond doubt. Alessandro Bastoni pulled one back for Inter in the 77th minute, but the visitors were already through.
How the result unfolded and the key players
Hauge’s finish was his sixth goal in this Champions League campaign, a tally described in the context as the most ever by a Norwegian player for a Norwegian club in a single edition of the competition. Hauge also set up Evjen’s strike. Bodo goalkeeper Nikita Haikin made several crucial saves and produced reflexes that kept Inter at bay during periods of pressure. The 2-1 win on the night completed a home-and-away double over Cristian Chivu’s Inter and sealed a 5-2 aggregate success.
From group-stage shocks to knockout history
bodo glimt’s progress to the last 16 caps a run that already included wins over Manchester City and Atlético Madrid in the league phase and a draw against Borussia Dortmund. The Norwegian side are the first Norwegian club to progress in a knockout-stage tie in the Champions League and the first overall in the European Cup since Lillestrom in 1987-88. They are also the first team from outside Europe’s big five leagues to win four consecutive European Cup/Champions League games against opponents from England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France since Ajax in 1971-72; Ajax went on to win the European Cup that season.
Reactions from managers and players
Boss Kjetil Knutsen called the progression "a historical moment for Bodo and I think also for Norwegian football. " Forward Jens Petter Hauge, back in the San Siro where he spent two years with AC Milan, said: "It sounds not true, but we are there, among the last teams in the competition. It will be really exciting to see what the next two games bring. " Inter coach Cristian Chivu acknowledged the quality of the visitors, saying they had "proved" they belonged at this stage and listing other opponents they had shown their quality against.
Former player Jurgen Klinsmann labelled Inter’s exit a "catastrophe" for the Serie A leaders in the reaction recorded in the provided context. Inter midfielder Nicolò Barella conceded defeat and noted the difficulty Inter had in scoring, adding that with one more point in the group phase they would have avoided the playoff and the current outcome. Inter were without Lautaro Martínez and Hakan Çalhanoglu due to injury for the tie.
Other Champions League ties and what comes next
The same set of fixtures produced notable results elsewhere. Atlético Madrid beat Club Brugge 4-1 in the second leg to win 7-4 on aggregate, with Alexander Sørloth completing a hat-trick after an earlier 3-3 draw in Belgium; Sørloth scored in the 23rd minute, Joel Ordóñez levelled 13 minutes later, Johnny Cardoso put Atlético 2-1 early in the second half and Sørloth added two late goals in the final 15 minutes. Bayer Leverkusen booked their last-16 spot with a 0-0 draw against Olympiakos to make it 2-0 on aggregate after Patrik Schick’s double in the first leg in Greece. Atlético will face either Liverpool or Tottenham in the last 16; Leverkusen will face either Bayern Munich or Arsenal. The draw for the next stage will take place on Friday.
The result leaves Inter — last season’s finalists who lost the final to Paris Saint-Germain and were heavy 5-0 victims in that match — out of Europe, despite sitting 10 points clear at the top of Serie A this season and appearing to be closing in on the domestic title. The club’s recent domestic form and managerial changes were noted in the provided context: Simone Inzaghi was replaced by Cristian Chivu, whose only prior senior managerial role had been a few months at Parma, and Inter brought in Ange-Yoan Bonny, Luis Henrique, Petar Sučić and Manuel Akanji over the transfer window.
Having failed to win their first six league phase games and needing results against Manchester City and Atlético to reach the play-offs, Bodo/Glimt’s campaign will now continue in the knockout stages. Their last-16 opponent will be either Manchester City or Sporting, as stated in the provided context, and the team will discover that fixture after the draw on Friday.
