Norway’s Bodo/Glimt pulled off one of the most remarkable results in modern Champions League history on Tuesday, beating last season’s runners-up Inter Milan 2-1 at San Siro to reach the last 16 with a 5-2 aggregate triumph, while Newcastle United, Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen also went through.
Bodo/Glimt, the modest outfit from north of the Arctic Circle, were looking to follow up their stunning 3-1 win last week in Norway in the first leg of their knockout phase play-off tie.
Inter, the three-time European champions who are currently 10 points clear at the top of Serie A, were expected to pummel their visitors in an attempt to turn the tie around. But Bodo/Glimt survived at the back before finishing off the tie in the second half.
Jens Petter Hauge, who played for AC Milan in 2020/21, gave his team the lead just before the hour mark after a mistake by Manuel Akanji had allowed Ole Blomberg in for an initial shot which was saved.
Hakon Evjen made it 2-0 on the night and 5-1 on aggregate, leaving Inter with too much to do, even if Alessandro Bastoni pulled one back with a shot that just crossed the line.
Bodo/Glimt, who had won four Norwegian Eliteserien titles in five years before finishing as runners-up last season to Viking Stavanger, are the first side from the country to go so far in Europe’s elite club competition since Rosenborg reached the quarterfinals in 1997.
“For us it’s been unbelievable. We knew it would be very hard against Inter who are a very strong team and played in the final last season,” said Hauge.
They will find out their last-16 opponents on Friday but already know it will either be Sporting of Portugal or Manchester City next — they defeated City 3-1 at home last month during the league phase.
What makes their success all the more striking is that Kjetil Knutsen’s team are currently in their off-season, with the Norwegian league ending in late November and the new campaign not beginning until mid-March.
For Inter, exiting at this stage is a bitter blow after they made the final last season only to suffer a 5-0 hammering at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.
Sorloth hat-trick
Newcastle followed their 6-1 win away to Qarabag in Azerbaijan in last week’s first leg with a 3-2 victory in the return at St James’ Park, as Eddie Howe’s team ensured there will be six English clubs in the next round.
Sandro Tonali and Joelinton both scored inside the opening six minutes, leaving Qarabag facing another heavy defeat.
However, Camilo Duran pulled one back early in the second half. Sven Botman headed in Newcastle’s third, but Elvin Jafarguliyev made it 3-2 as he followed in to score after Marko Jankovic’s penalty was saved.
Newcastle can now look forward to a heavyweight tie in the next round against either Chelsea or Barcelona.
“I think if you look at the score over the two legs it’s been fantastic from the players even though today feels like a bit of a hollow win for us,” said Howe.
Atletico had been held to a 3-3 draw by Club Brugge in Belgium last week but they ran out 4-1 winners in Tuesday’s return in the Spanish capital to advance 7-4 on aggregate.
Norwegian striker Alexander Sorloth was the star of the show with a hat-trick, including the opener midway through the first half which came from a long kick downfield by goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Joel Ordonez headed the away side level before the break, but USA international Johnny Cardoso restored Atletico’s lead just after the interval.
Sorloth scored his second and Atletico’s third on the night on 76 minutes after a brilliant one-two between Ademola Lookman and Antoine Griezmann. Sorloth then completed his hat-trick to round out the scoring with his 15th of the season in all competitions.
Diego Simeone’s team will play either Tottenham Hotspur or Liverpool in the next round.
“I’m not thinking about Liverpool or Tottenham, I’m enjoying today’s game and being in the last 16 for another season is very important,” Simeone told broadcaster Movistar.
Meanwhile, Leverkusen followed a 2-0 win away to Olympiacos in Greece last week with a 0-0 draw at home in the return.
The 2024 German champions now face a huge test next against either Arsenal or Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich.
Source: Khaleej Times