Bodo/Glimt Stun Inter at San Siro to Reach Historic Champions League Last 16

Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt produced one of the competition’s most memorable upsets on Tuesday night, defeating Inter Milan 2-1 at the San Siro to seal a stunning 5-2 aggregate victory and book a place in the Champions League last 16.

Holding a 3-1 advantage from the first leg in Bodo, the visitors arrived in Milan with belief and left with history. The team from the Arctic Circle, already considered the fairytale story of this season’s tournament, showed composure beyond their experience on Europe’s biggest stage.

Inter, last season’s finalist, began with urgency. Roared on by the home support, the Italian side pushed forward from the opening whistle. Pio Esposito headed over inside the first few minutes, setting the tone for a dominant early spell. Marcus Thuram nearly broke the deadlock after 15 minutes, curling an effort just wide as pressure mounted.

Despite Inter’s control, the breakthrough never came before halftime.

The hosts continued to attack after the restart and were convinced they deserved a penalty when Manuel Akanji’s attempt was blocked by Fredrik Sjoevold. However, both the referee and VAR waved away appeals, leaving Inter frustrated.

Then came the decisive moment.

In the 58th minute, Ole Didrik Blomberg intercepted a loose pass near the edge of Inter’s area and surged toward goal. Yann Sommer parried his strike, but Jens Petter Hauge reacted fastest, firing home the rebound to extend Bodo/Glimt’s aggregate lead. Suddenly, the San Siro fell silent.

Fourteen minutes later, Haakon Evjen effectively ended the contest. The midfielder calmly guided a precise right-footed shot into the far bottom corner, making it 2-0 on the night and putting the tie beyond reach.

Alessandro Bastoni pulled one back for Inter in the 77th minute, offering a glimmer of hope, but it proved too little, too late.

Having already secured eye-catching victories over Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in the league phase to sneak into the playoffs, Bodo/Glimt have now made it three consecutive wins in the competition. Naming an unchanged starting lineup for the return leg, they rarely looked in danger of surrendering control.

With this result, Bodo/Glimt become the first Norwegian side to advance from a Champions League knockout tie — a landmark achievement that cements their place in this season’s history books.