Bodø/Glimt secured a 2-1 victory over Inter at San Siro, advancing 5-2 on aggregate in the Champions League playoffs. The Norwegian side, playing between domestic seasons, outplayed the Serie A leaders with goals from Jens Petter Hauge and Håkon Evjen. This win marks the biggest result in Norwegian club football history.
The match on Tuesday at San Siro saw Bodø/Glimt eliminate Inter, the Italian giants who lead Serie A by 10 points and remain undefeated in the league since November 23, 2025. Inter, coached by Cristian Chivu, struggled to create openings, as midfielder Nicolò Barella noted: “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 were both games and deserved to go through.”
Bodø/Glimt, under Kjetil Knutsen since 2018, were compact in the first half and ruthless after the break. In the 58th minute, Ole Didrik Blomberg pressured Manuel Akanji into a mistake, leading to Hauge prodding home the rebound after his shot was parried by Yann Sommer. The second goal came from a crisp passing move starting in their own half, with Hauge curling a cross for Evjen to volley past Sommer.
Evjen described the achievement to Norwegian TV 2 as: “We have done something crazy. 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.” Knutsen emphasized the collective effort: “It’s a great evening for the club, the fans and Norwegian football. We don’t talk about objectives going forward from here.”
The Norwegian club, promoted to the top tier in 2017 and champions in four of the last six seasons, had a mixed start in the Champions League league stage but beat Manchester City at home and Atlético Madrid away to reach the playoffs. This is their fourth straight win in the competition. Italian media, including La Gazzetta dello Sport, called it an “embarrassment” for Inter, with former manager Fabio Capello criticizing their lack of speed and dribbling.
In Norway, outlets like VG hailed it as the biggest club result ever, with commentator Lars Tjærnås stating: “For me this is the biggest result from a Norwegian club side of all time.” Bodø/Glimt, based north of the Arctic Circle with a tiny budget, will face either Manchester City or Sporting in the last 16. Captain Patrick Berg said: “It doesn’t matter who it is... if it is City in the end, we are ready for it.” The team is between seasons, with their last league game on November 30, 2025, and the next on March 7, 2026.
