Champions League playoffs: Bodø/Glimt pulls off stunning upset against Inter Milan

Bodø/Glimt pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Champions League history by knocking out three-time winner Inter Milan. The tiny Norwegian team won 2-1 at the San Siro on Tuesday to seal a 5-2 aggregate victory in the playoffs and secure its place in the round of 16 in spectacular fashion.

“Can you believe it?” coach Kjetil Knutsen said to TNT Sports.  “A team from a small town up north. It’s unbelievable.” In its first season in European club soccer’s top competition Bodø/Glimt has produced one shock after another following wins against Manchester City and Atletico Madrid at the end of the league phase. But victory over two legs against last year’s Champions League finalist and current Serie A leader Inter was its biggest feat yet.

Second-half goals from Jens Petter Hauge and Hakon Evjen stunned the home fans in Milan and set Bodø/Glimt on course for a clash with City or Sporting Lisbon in the next round. Alessandro Bastoni pulled a goal back for Inter, but by then the damage had already been done.

“We’re disappointed. We want to go as far as possible in every competition. We tried, but they were better than us,” Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella told Sky Sport. Atletico beat Club Brugge 4-1 and completed a 7-4 aggregate win, Newcastle won 3-2 against Qarabag (9-3) and Bayer Leverkusen advanced 2-0 on aggregate against Olympiacos after 0-0 draw in the second leg.

Bodø/Glimt’s stunning run goes on:  To put Bodø/Glimt’s run into context: by the start of January it had yet to win its first game in the Champions League. In a whirlwind few weeks it has taken down 2023 European champion City, Inter — a two-time runner up in the last three years — and Spanish giant Atletico. According to stats firm Opta, a month ago Bodø/Glimt had a 0.3 per cent chance of advancing to the round of 16 having picked up three points from six games in the league phase.

But those victories against City and Atletico have propelled its Champions League campaign and over two legs it was too good for an Inter team that tops the Italian league by 10 points. “I can’t actually believe it,” Knutsen said.  “The players are amazing. They take the steps, they believe, they’re working hard.

I’m so proud.” Defending a 3-1 first leg win, Bodø/Glimt soaked up pressure until a mistake from Manuel Akanji was seized on by Ole Didrik Blomberg in the 58th minute. His shot was saved by Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer, but Hauge was there to convert the rebound. Hauge now has six goals in this year’s tournament. Akanji hit the post as Inter tried to mount a fight back, but Evjen lashed in a second for the visitors in the 72nd to send around 3,000 traveling fans wild.

Bastoni’s goal, which marginally crossed the line, never looked like being the start of a comeback for the Italians. “We were unlucky. The ball simply didn’t want to go in. They did what they had to do, and all I can do is congratulate them,” Inter defender Yann Bisseck said.

While Bodø/Glimt is the surprise package of this year’s Champions League, it has been making a name for itself in Europe in recent years. Last season it advanced to the semifinals of the Europa League and previously reached the quarterfinals of the Conference League. Prior to its recent run of upsets, it beat giants like Lazio, Porto and Roma in previous years, with its artificial playing field often proving a leveler against more famous opponents.

“It’s been quite a journey to get where we are now, and there are so many people who have been part of that journey together,” Knutsen told TV2. Atletico advances:  A hat trick by Alexander Sorloth helped Atletico Madrid finally shake off Club Brugge. Diego Simeone’s team won 4-1 in the second leg, but the wide margin on the night didn’t tell the full story of Brugge’s resilience over two games. A 3-3 draw in Belgium last week had seen Brugge come back from two goals down and then level again in the 89th minute.

In the second leg in Madrid it fought back once more after Sorloth fired Atletico in front in the 23rd. Joel Ordonez leveled 13 minutes later. Diego Simeone’s team went 2-1 in the 48th minute on American midfielder Johnny Cardoso’s first goal for Atletico, and Brugge’s resolve was finally broken. Sorloth completed his hat trick with goals in the 76th and 87th to secure Atletico’s place in the next round.

Newcastle completes the job against Qarabag: Newcastle’s place in the next round was effectively sealed with a 6-1 win against Qarabag in the first leg. And it was 2-0 up inside six minutes of the home leg after Sandro Tonali and Joelinton struck. Qarabag made a fight of it in the second half. Camilo Duran pulled one back before Sven Botman made it 3-1. Elvin Jafarguliyev reduced the deficit again for the Azerbaijani team. Bayer Leverkusen eased through by drawing with Olympiakos 0-0 and safeguarding its two-goal advantage from the first leg.