The surprise team from Norway is celebrating their next coup: FK Bodö/Glimt also beat Serie A leaders Inter Milan in the second leg of the Champions League playoffs. The blatant outsider won 2-1 (0-0) at San Siro and sensationally moved into the round of 16 of the premier class.
Jens Petter Hauge (58th minute) scored after a blatant blackout by former Dortmund player Manuel Akanji to give the visitors the lead, Hakon Evjen even increased the score to 2-0 for the Norwegians (72nd). Inter managed to score through Alessandro Bastoni (76′), but were unable to reverse the deficit from the first leg (1:3) and the deficit. The sensation was perfect: the football dwarf from Norway prevailed against the three-time Champions League winner and last year’s finalist from Milan.
Barella sober: Congratulations to Bodö/Glimt
“Congratulations to Bodö/Glimt, they won twice” Inter’s captain Nico Barella explained briefly on Amazon Prime. “The big difficulty today was opening the game, we couldn’t do that. The first goal conceded is an individual mistake, that’s what happens in football.”
On Friday (February 27, 2026, 12 p.m.), the draw in Nyon will decide against whom the Norwegians can continue their fairytale premier class season. Sporting Lisbon and Manchester City are the possible opponents.
Inter controls the game without becoming dangerous
Inter coach Cristian Chivu had asked his team to be patient before the game and had given a controlled offensive as the route. That’s exactly what his team showed from the start: Inter dominated the game and created chances. Pio Esposito, who once again replaced captain Lautaro Martinez in attack, who had a calf injury, made the first promising shot in the third minute, but his header flew over the goal.
Bodö/Glimt, on the other hand, had a hard time moving forward in the game. Unlike in the first leg, the Norwegians rarely managed to play forward in a targeted manner. With the two-goal lead behind us, that wasn’t necessarily necessary. Coach Kjetil Knutsen’s team defended in a disciplined and wide-awake manner, although they were not able to stop every good Inter attack, but they also did not allow any major chances.
Inconspicuous: Ex-Gladbacher Marcus Thuram in the Inter storm
The ratio of shots at the break clearly favored Milan (14:1), but most of them were harmless. The visitors had their first and only opportunity of the first half in the 37th minute when Haakon Evjen moved up from midfield and headed Inter keeper Yann Sommer into a diving save.
Ex-Dortmunder Akanji makes a serious mistake
The patience thing was over at the start of the second half – Inter really needed to score goals now. But before the Italians had time to put themselves into the spotlight offensively, Akanji gave the visitors the lead with his blackout and even increased Inter’s mortgage.
During the build-up to the game, the central defender searched in vain for a pass point and then pushed the ball far too gently towards his own goalkeeper. Ole Didrik Blomberg ran the ball and shot, Sommer parried the first attempt well. The former Frankfurt Hauge had no problems getting the rebounding ball into the goal.
Inter completely out of character
The shock of conceding another goal against the blatant outsider was noticeable to Inter: In the following minutes, nothing happened for the 2023/24 Italian champions. Mistakes followed mistakes, which allowed Bodö/Glimt to establish themselves in the opponent’s half. Only when Akanji hit the post following a set piece (72nd) did Inter appear to initiate the final offensive. But Evjen’s remarkable goal to make it 2-0 after a counterattack including a Hauge cross took all the wind out of the hosts’ sails.
Haakon Evjen celebrates after his beautiful goal to make it 2-0
Inter’s goal after a corner kick didn’t change that: substitute Ange-Yoan Bonny involuntarily maneuvered the ball across the six-yard box to Bastoni, whose shot was saved by Bodö’s goalkeeper Nikita Haikin, but the ball had already crossed the goal line.
Inter defeat not just on artificial turf
But Bastoni’s goal wasn’t enough to really make Inter believe in their miracle comeback. Bodö/Glimt continued to defend passionately, increasingly inspired by the impending triumph. In the end, one statistic was significant: Although Inter recorded far more shots than the guests at 32:7, the score was 5:5 after shots on goal. It wasn’t just luck that helped the Norwegians win.
After the first leg defeat on the unfamiliar artificial turf in northern Norway, the Italians also suffered a not entirely undeserved defeat in the second leg – and that in the venerable San Siro.
Exuberant cheers from the Bodö/Glimt players
