Bodø/Glimt bask in ‘crazy’ Champions League victory over shellshocked Inter
Italian giants were well beaten by a side who are dazzling despite Norway’s domestic season not starting until next month
There was a moment after the final whistle at San Siro on Tuesday night when the head coaches, Bodø/Glimt’s Kjetil Knutsen and Inter’s Cristian Chivu, stood chatting, seemingly discussing some tactical element of the game that had just finished.
Chivu appeared genuinely interested in what Knutsen had to say, smiling politely, but above all he looked utterly bemused. What the hell had just happened? His Inter team, top of Serie A by 10 points and undefeated in the league since 23 November, had not only lost the home leg of their Champions League playoff against the Norwegian side but been well beaten: 2-1 on the night and 5-2 on aggregate.
As Inter’s Nicolò Barella said: “We didn’t really manage to challenge them tonight. The hardest thing was to create an opening. We didn’t manage to and congratulations to Bodø/Glimt – they won both games and deserved to go through.”
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Bodø/Glimt’s progress in the Champions League this season is how they have adapted to the surroundings. They won the Norwegian league for the first time only in 2020, then made the Conference League quarter-finals in 2021-22 and the Europa League semi-finals last season before their debut campaign in the Champions League proper this season.
At every step they have looked at home, but their European form has really taken off in the past few months. Having failed to win any of their first six league stage matches they famously beat Manchester City at home last month and Atlético Madrid away to sneak into the playoffs.
Against Inter in the second leg they were compact in the first half and ruthless in the second. After 58 minutes Ole Didrik Blomberg pressured Manuel Akanji into a mistake, nicked the ball and stung Yann Sommer’s palms with a fierce drive. Jens Petter Hauge, formerly of Milan, calmly prodded home the rebound.
After that opening goal Bodø/Glimt grew in confidence, their passing becoming even crisper, and their second goal was a beauty. Having won the ball in their own half they carved open Inter with a passing move that ended with Hauge curling a cross into the path of Håkon Evjen, who took one touch with his left foot before slamming the ball past Sommer with his right.
“We have done something crazy,” Evjen told Norwegian TV 2. “It is surreal. It was an incredible experience and a game where we beat them fair and square – mentally, physically and everything else there is. It is difficult to describe what we have done.”
The Italian press tried to make sense of what they had seen, La Gazzetta dello Sport going with the headline: “No Excuses”, adding: “Embarrassment for Inter with the team predictable and not very dangerous.”
On TV the former Milan, Juventus and England manager Fabio Capello tore into Chivu’s team saying: “I saw an Inter that was way too slow in all of their passing. Completely without speed. They tried to create openings centrally but did not manage it. What really struck me was that no Inter player managed to dribble past their opponent.”
In Norway the media celebrated the biggest club result in the nation’s history. VG headlined one article: “Glimt claim historic scalp – ‘This ends any discussion.’”
In the piece the Viaplay commentator Lars Tjærnås says: “For me this is the biggest result from a Norwegian club side of all time. There is no point discussing it, this is the biggest.
“Glimt eliminate a club who have for 100 years had a doctorate in getting exactly the results they need and are feared by everyone. And then Glimt do not just win but outclass them over two games.”
Knutsen was as calm after the game as he was during it, saying: “It’s a great evening for the club, the fans and Norwegian football. We don’t talk about objectives going forward from here.”
He added: “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. The team, the coaching staff, the medical department and all the people working behind the scenes every single day to gain those small margins. There are an incredible number of people behind this.”
It is easy to forget, watching Bodø/Glimt, that they are between domestic seasons. They played their last league game of the 2025 season on 30 November and do not have a domestic game until a cup fixture against Molde on 7 March.
On Friday they will learn whether they will face Manchester City (again) or Sporting in the last 16 of the Champions League. “It doesn’t matter who it is,” said the midfielder Patrick Berg. “It is always good to face new teams. But if it is City in the end, we are ready for it, even if they won’t want to be beaten again by Bodø/Glimt.”