Inter - Bodø/glimt complete 5-2 aggregate shock as Norwegian side reach Champions League last 16
Bodø/Glimt's Champions League fairytale continued in Milan as inter - bodø/glimt prevailed 2-1 on the night to advance 5-2 on aggregate and reach the competition's last 16 for the first time. The result removes Inter Milan — Serie A leaders — from the knockout play-off tie and hands the Norwegian club a place in a stage they will enter against either Manchester City or Sporting.
San Siro: decisive second leg and a 2-1 night
Bodø/Glimt held a 3-1 lead from the first leg and defended that advantage in Italy, prevailing 2-1 in Milan to complete a home-and-away double over Cristian Chivu's side. Jens Petter Hauge opened the scoring — his sixth goal in this season's Champions League — and then set up Håkon Evjen for the second, giving the visitors a 5-2 aggregate victory. The Norwegian outfit repelled numerous first-half Inter attacks before striking twice around the hour mark to leave the Serie A leaders with too much to do.
Jens Petter Hauge: six goals and a San Siro return
Hauge's contribution was decisive. He scored his sixth goal of the campaign for Bodø/Glimt and provided the assist for Evjen's finish; those actions directly produced the two away goals that sealed the tie. The forward described the moment as almost unreal and noted he was returning to San Siro after a two-year spell at AC Milan. Hauge's six goals are the most by a Norwegian player for a Norwegian club in a single edition of the European Cup/Champions League.
Kjetil Knutsen and the 'historical moment' for Norwegian football
Manager Kjetil Knutsen called the progression a "historical moment for Bodo and I think also for Norwegian football. " That assessment is underscored by two concrete records: Bodø/Glimt are 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 1987-88. What makes this notable is that the club also beat Manchester City and Atlético Madrid in the league phase to reach the play-offs, after failing to win their first six group matches and needing those results to qualify.
Cristian Chivu and Inter Milan: lineup context and pre-match constraints
Inter arrived at the tie trailing 3-1 on aggregate and without captain Lautaro Martínez, who had picked up a calf injury in the first leg and was unavailable for Bodø's visit. Pre-match planning pointed to Marcus Thuram partnering Pio Esposito — last week's goalscorer — while Federico Dimarco, unused in the Arctic Circle, was certain to start the second leg. Piotr Zieliński was expected to operate at the base of midfield in Hakan Çalhanoğlu's absence, and Nicolo Barella returned to the side after missing a 2-0 victory over Lecce on the preceding Saturday. Those personnel factors shaped expectations; ultimately the visitors' two quick goals around the hour were decisive in overturning any edge Inter hoped to reclaim.
Inter - Bodø/glimt: historical patterns and broader significance
Beyond the immediate outcome, Bodø/Glimt became the first team from outside Europe's big five leagues to win four consecutive European Cup/Champions League matches against opponents from England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France since Ajax in 1971-72 — a run that side carried through to a European Cup triumph that season. The club's Arctic base, about 70 miles inside the Arctic Circle, and the often harsh wintry conditions of their home matches have been part of a wider narrative of resilience. Their run included visits to Borussia Dortmund and Atlético Madrid that emboldened the squad ahead of the San Siro night.
Broadcast listings and match accessibility
The second-leg fixture had been scheduled for multiple international broadcasts, with platforms listed for audiences including TNT Sports 1, discovery+, discovery+ App, Paramount+, TUDN USA, UniMás, TUDN. com, Univision NOW and the TUDN App. The match outcome, a 2-1 victory in Milan and 5-2 on aggregate, now sets Bodø/Glimt up to face the winner of the tie between Manchester City and Sporting in the Champions League last 16.
The timing matters because a club that failed to win its first six group games then beat two of Europe's elite in Manchester City and Atlético Madrid and completed a knockout upset over Inter Milan, demonstrating sustained improvement across the competition. The fairytale run, Knutsen said, will now be followed by two more high-profile matches that the manager and players described with clear excitement and anticipation.
