Norway’s unheralded club **** delivered one of the most astonishing upsets in Champions League history on Tuesday night, defeating last season’s runners-up **** 2-1 at the iconic San Siro to secure a place in the Round of 16.
Having already stunned the football world by winning the first leg at home 3-1, Bodø/Glimt’s aggregate 5-2 victory confirmed that their Scandinavian fairy tale was no fluke. The Norwegian side joins ****, ****, and **** in the last sixteen of Europe’s premier club competition.
In a tightly contested first half at San Siro, neither team managed to break the deadlock. The breakthrough came in the 52nd minute when Bodø/Glimt winger **** capitalised on a rebound following a shot by Ole Blomberg that **** failed to secure. Hauge’s strike sent the Norwegian supporters into euphoria. By the 72nd minute, Håkon Evjen doubled the lead, virtually sealing the tie at 5-1 on aggregate. Alessandro Bastoni pulled one back for Inter in the 76th minute, but the Italian giants were powerless to stage a comeback.
Bodø/Glimt, champions of Norway’s Eliteserien four times in the last five seasons, had narrowly missed out on domestic honours this year to Viking Stavanger, yet they compensated for that disappointment with historic European success. This marks the first time a Norwegian club has reached the Round of 16 in the Champions League since Rosenborg’s quarter-final run in 1997.
Remarkably, Bodø/Glimt have also become the first club outside Europe’s top five leagues to defeat teams from those leagues in four consecutive European fixtures. Last month, they beat Manchester City 3-1 at home, followed by a victory over Atlético Madrid, and now a double-leg triumph over Inter Milan.
| Match | Result (Aggregate) | Key Scorers | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bodø/Glimt vs Inter Milan | 5-2 | Hauge, Evjen | San Siro & Bodø |
| Newcastle vs Qarabağ | 9-3 | Various | Azerbaijan & England |
| Atlético Madrid vs Club Brugge | 7-4 | Alexander Sørloth hat-trick | Madrid & Belgium |
| Bayer Leverkusen vs Olympiakos | 2-0 | Various | Greece & Germany |
After the match, Hauge reflected: “This is unbelievable. We knew Inter were strong—they reached last season’s final—but we believed in ourselves.” Head coach **** added: “Tonight is a historic evening for the club, the players, the city, and Norway. Our focus is on improving performance and nurturing the team’s development. That’s our path.”
The Round of 16 draw, scheduled for Friday, could see Bodø/Glimt face Sporting Lisbon or Manchester City, offering a fresh opportunity for the Arctic Circle club to continue their remarkable European journey. Notably, Norway’s league season concluded last November, and Bodø/Glimt achieved this feat in their off-season, highlighting the extraordinary nature of their accomplishment.