Bodø/Glimt stun Inter 5-2 aggregate to reach Champions League last 16

Bodø/Glimt completed a shock elimination of Inter Milan with a 2-1 win at San Siro, sealing a 5-2 aggregate victory and qualifying for the Champions League last 16 for the first time in the club’s history. The Arctic Circle side’s progression capped a run that has been widely described as one of the biggest upsets in Champions League history.

Jens Petter Hauge opened the scoring in Milan, his sixth goal of this Champions League campaign for Bodø/Glimt, a tally described as the most ever by a Norwegian player for a Norwegian club in a single edition of the competition. Hauge then provided the assist for Håkon Evjen’s "lovely finish" for the second, a sequence the BBC called inspirational. A composed finish from Høgh made it 3-1 in the earlier leg and, as TheAnalyst observed, "He became only the second player to be directly involved in three goals in a Champions League knockout game against Inter, after Paris Saint-Germain’s Désiré Doué did the same in last season’s final (two goals, one assist)."

Manager Kjetil Knutsen hailed the achievement, saying, "It is a historical moment for Bodo and I think also for Norwegian football." The team from roughly 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle produced what the BBC termed "another resolute and determined display in Italy to complete a home and away double over Cristian Chivu's men."

The upset has statistical and narrative dimensions. Bodø/Glimt’s run included surprising away wins against Manchester City and Atlético Madrid, results that recalibrated probability models dramatically. Analysts charted the club’s ascent from a near-impossible 0.3 percent chance of progressing before the City victory, to 1.5 percent prior to hosting City, rising to 3.2 percent the day after the win, and ultimately to a 57.4 percent probability of reaching the round of 16 according to the Opta supercomputer, as reported by TheAnalyst. The club is also recorded as the first ever Norwegian team to win a Champions League knockout game and the first Norwegian side to advance from the group phase since Rosenborg’s 1996-97 quarter-final run.

The outcome carries broader implications for European football. BBC analysis warned that Inter’s exit could leave Serie A without representation in the last 16, a scenario described as a potential Champions League "debacle" for Italian clubs. Commentator Laurens linked the success of smaller clubs to strong scouting and academy systems, and argued that Italian academies are underperforming relative to their past, saying in part, "The academies in Italy are not producing enough players or players who are fit to play in their first team."

On social media, supporters pushed back against dismissals of Bodø/Glimt’s style and environment. A Facebook post contested claims that a "plastic pitch" at home explained the results and pointed to victories in Madrid and Milan as proof the team’s successes are not surface dependent. That post also claimed 10 of the 11 starters were Norwegian and that several were local to Bodø; those roster assertions are being circulated widely but should be verified against official match sheets.

Bodø/Glimt will meet either Manchester City or Sporting in the last 16, with the draw to determine which heavyweight awaits. For now, the club’s run is a statistical shock and a reputational one, forcing a reassessment of scouting, academy investment and the competitive balance between Europe’s elite and its emerging challengers.