Inter - Bodø/glimt: Bodo/Glimt stun Inter Milan in Milan to reach Champions League last 16
In a result that has rewritten the early knockout narrative, inter - bodø/glimt completed a 2-1 victory at San Siro to advance 5-2 on aggregate and reach the Champions League last 16 for the first time. The Norwegian side’s progression carries immediate significance for club and country, ending a long wait for a Norwegian knockout win and extending a remarkable European run.
Jens Petter Hauge and Håkon Evjen change the tie
Jens Petter Hauge opened the scoring in Milan and his finish was his sixth goal in this Champions League campaign for Bodo/Glimt, the most ever by a Norwegian player for a Norwegian club in a single edition. Hauge then provided the assist that allowed Håkon Evjen to double the visitors’ lead, a sequence that produced the 2-1 scoreline on the night and sealed a 5-2 aggregate success. Because Hauge both scored and set up the second, his contributions directly determined the immediate outcome and sent Bodo through.
Inter - Bodø/glimt second leg at San Siro and pre-match context
Inter Milan, the Serie A leaders and three-time winners of the competition, had arrived at the second leg with a 3-1 deficit to overturn after the first meeting. That first leg saw Bodo score twice in quick succession around the hour mark to stun the Italian side. Inter’s preparations had been complicated by a calf injury to captain Lautaro Martínez sustained in the first leg; Martínez was unavailable for the return. Pre-match plans envisaged Marcus Thuram partnering last week’s goalscorer Pio Esposito, with Federico Dimarco—an unused substitute in the Arctic Circle—certain to start the second leg, Piotr Zieliński at the base of midfield in Hakan Çalhanoğlu’s absence, and Nicolo Barella returning after missing a recent 2-0 Serie A victory over Lecce.
Cristian Chivu, Antonio Conte and the managerial backdrop
Cristian Chivu’s Inter side, once managed by Antonio Conte—who was appointed in 2019 and sought to shed the club’s "pazza" tag—faced an opponent that has consistently produced upsets. Inter had been beaten by Paris St-Germain in the final of the competition just over nine months earlier, and Chivu’s team were described as having been caught cold by Bodo’s slickness in the first leg. That dynamic repeated in Milan as Bodo repelled numerous first-half Inter attacks before delivering decisive moments around the hour mark.
Kjetil Knutsen, club milestones and national significance
Manager Kjetil Knutsen labelled the achievement a historical moment for the club and for Norwegian football. Bodo/Glimt are the first Norwegian side to progress in a knockout-stage tie in the Champions League and the first Norwegian club to advance in the European Cup since Lillestrom in the 1987-88 first round. What makes this notable is that the Norwegians have also become the first team from outside Europe’s big five leagues to win four consecutive matches in a European Cup/Champions League campaign against opponents from those leagues since Ajax in 1971-72, and Ajax went on to win the European Cup that season.
From the Arctic Circle to the San Siro and what comes next
Bodo/Glimt’s story has long been tied to its home base roughly 70 miles inside the Arctic Circle, where home fixtures can often feature harsh wintry conditions. The club’s fairytale run followed an unlikely start to the group stage—Bodo failed to win their first six league phase games and therefore needed results against Manchester City and Atlético Madrid to reach the play-offs. Having beaten Manchester City and Atlético Madrid in the league phase and now eliminating Inter, the Norwegians completed a home-and-away double over Cristian Chivu’s men. Their reward is a last-16 slot where they will face either Manchester City or Sporting.
Broadcast notes and wider context
Television and streaming coverage for the fixture included networks and platforms such as TNT Sports 1, discovery+, discovery+ App, Paramount+, TUDN USA, UniMás, TUDN. com, Univision NOW and the TUDN App. An archive piece from May 2025 chronicled the club’s rapid rise under Knutsen, a rise now sealed by a result that has rewritten Bodo/Glimt’s place in European competition.
Players and staff marked the moment in Milan: Knutsen framed it as historic, while Hauge—who had returned to the San Siro where he spent two years with AC Milan—described the achievement as almost unreal and expressed excitement about what the next two games will bring.
