Bodo/Glimt dumped last season’s finalists Inter Milan out of the UEFA Champions League with a remarkable 2-1 win at the San Siro, in their playoff second leg that sealed a stunning 5-2 aggregate triumph for the Norwegian side.
Inter dominated the opening spell and Marcus Thuram went close with a curler after 15 minutes. Yet despite the home side’s relentless pressure, the score remained goalless at the break.
Having stunned Inter with a 3-1 victory in the first leg in Bodo, the visitors increased their aggregate advantage when Jens Petter Hauge fired home a rebound in the 58th minute.
Haakon Evjen put the result beyond doubt in the 72nd minute, guiding a precise right-footed effort into the far bottom corner.
Defender Alessandro Bastoni pulled a goal back for Inter in the 77th minute, but it proved too late to alter their fate.
It turned into a relatively comfortable evening for the visitors, who rarely looked in danger of missing out on a first Champions League last-16 appearance as they became the first Norwegian side to advance from a knockout tie in the competition.
“It has been a journey. There is a large group of us who have been part of it. There are unbelievably many people behind this who have such strong belief in the project,” Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen said in an interview.
The team from the Arctic Circle have been the fairytale story of this season’s competition, having fought its way into the playoffs with stunning victories over Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in their final two league-phase matches.
Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League results
Atletico Madrid 4-1 Club Brugge (7-4 on aggregate)
Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Olympiacos (2-0 on aggregate)
Inter Milan 1-2 Bodo/Glimt (2-5 on aggregate)
Newcastle 3-2 Qarabag (9-3 on aggregate).