Inter Vs Bodø/glimt: Bodo/Glimt send Inter crashing out in historic shock
In a result that stunned Europe, the Norwegian side completed a 2-1 win in Milan to secure a 5-2 aggregate success — the headline tie in inter vs bodø/glimt — and reached the Champions League last 16 for the first time.
Inter Vs Bodø/glimt in Milan
Bodø/Glimt held a 3-1 lead from the first leg and defended that advantage in the second leg at the San Siro, repelling numerous first-half Inter attacks before scoring twice in the second half. The visitors struck in the 58th minute when Ole Didrik Blomberg seized on a loose pass on the edge of the Inter area and drove at goal; Yann Sommer pushed his shot away but Jens Petter Hauge reacted quickest to convert the rebound from close range. Håkon Evjen 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 it proved too late. Winners 2-1 on the night, Bodø/Glimt advanced 5-2 on aggregate.
How the tie unfolded
Bodø/Glimt had beaten Manchester City and Atlético Madrid in the group phase and then produced this knockout play-off upset against three-time winners Inter Milan, who had reached last season's final. The Norwegian team, based around 70 miles into the Arctic Circle, completed a home-and-away double over Cristian Chivu's men. Inter needed at least two goals on the night to advance after losing the first leg 3-1, and they pushed from the start but were denied by solid defending and the reflexes of Bodo goalkeeper Nikita Haikin.
Reactions from managers and players
Bodø/Glimt boss Kjetil Knutsen said, "It is a historical moment for Bodo and I think also for Norwegian football. " Jens Petter Hauge, who scored the opener and has six goals in this Champions League campaign for Bodø/Glimt, 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 visitors' quality: "We know there's a lot of competitiveness in the Champions League. If teams get to this stage it means they have something. And they have proved that. They showed it against Dortmund, against Madrid, against City, against us twice. It's a team which has energy. We could have done better in Norway, we could have done better today, too, but unfortunately it didn't go how we wanted. We gave everything to try to advance, that's football. " Jurgen Klinsmann called Inter's exit a "catastrophe" for the Serie A leaders. Midfielder Nicolò Barella said, "Bodo won both the matches, so they deserved to go through. They didn't put us in great difficulty today... the most difficult thing was to score and we couldn't. "
Inter's season context and squad notes
Inter had reached last season's Champions League final but were crushed 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in that final and had also lost to AC Milan in the Italian Cup semifinals, finishing runner-up to Napoli in Serie A. Simone Inzaghi was replaced by Cristian Chivu, whose only previous senior managerial position had been a few months in charge at Parma. Inter made only a small set of signings: Ange-Yoan Bonny, Luis Henrique, Petar Sučić and Manuel Akanji. Inter were without Lautaro Martínez and Hakan Çalhanoglu through injury for the second leg in Milan. This season Inter sit 10 points clear at the top of Serie A, but in the Champions League they won their first three matches then lost four on the bounce to finish the league phase in 10th, one point off automatic advancement to the round of 16.
Other knockout ties and moments
Elsewhere in the playoff round, Alexander Sørloth scored a hat-trick as Atlético Madrid won 4-1 in the second leg to complete a 7-4 aggregate victory over Club Brugge. Atlético had gone ahead in Madrid in the 23rd minute through Sørloth; 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. The tie in Belgium had produced a 3-3 draw the previous week after Club Brugge came back from two goals down and then levelled in the 89th minute. Bayer Leverkusen earned a 0-0 draw with Olympiakos to book their last-16 spot with a 2-0 aggregate triumph after Patrik Schick had scored twice in the first leg in Greece. The draw for the round of 16 will take place on Friday.
Historic significance and records
Bodø/Glimt are the first Norwegian side to progress in a knockout-stage tie in the Champions League and the first Norwegian club to do so in the European Cup since Lillestrøm 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 or Champions League campaign against opponents from those leagues since Ajax in 1971-72. Jens Petter Hauge's six goals are the most ever by a Norwegian player for a Norwegian club in a single edition of the European Cup or Champions League. The fairytale run has come after Bodø/Glimt failed to win their first six league phase games and were left needing results against Manchester City and Atlético Madrid to qualify for the play-offs; their home matches are often played in harsh wintry conditions and the side has not even begun play in Norway's top flight yet this season.
Closing: Bodø/Glimt's 2-1 victory in Milan completed a 5-2 aggregate triumph that sends the Norwegian side into the Champions League last 16 for the first time, where they will face either Manchester City or Sporting.
