SOCCER: Bodo/Glimt spring upset to send Inter crashing out of Champions League

MILAN, Italy – Bodo/Glimt shocked last season's finalists Inter Milan with a 2-1 win at the San Siro on Tuesday, completing a stunning 5-2 aggregate victory in their Champions League playoff second leg.

The Norwegian side, already 3-1 up from the first leg in Bodo, extended their advantage in the 58th minute when Jens Petter Hauge scored from a rebound. Haakon Evjen sealed the win in the 72nd minute, sending Bodo/Glimt into the last 16 of the competition for the first time in their history.

“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 told TV2.

The Arctic Circle club has been the fairytale story of this season, securing playoff qualification with surprise wins over Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in the final league-phase matches.

Bodo/Glimt became the first Norwegian team to advance from a knockout tie in the Champions League. “Look at that amazing group. It's surreal and insanely cool, I don't know what to say,” Evjen said, while captain Patrick Berg called it “the biggest thing I've experienced in my career.”

Inter Dominate Early, But Fail to Convert

Inter Milan started strongly, pressing for the goals they needed. Pio Esposito missed an early header, and Marcus Thuram came close with a curler in the 15th minute. Despite dominating possession, the home side failed to score in the first half.

After the break, Inter continued to push but had a penalty appeal for handball turned down by VAR. Under sustained pressure, Bodo/Glimt struck in the 58th minute when Ole Didrik Blomberg drove at goal and Hauge converted the rebound. Evjen’s strike in the 72nd minute made the tie safe. Alessandro Bastoni pulled one back for Inter in the 77th minute, but it was too late to prevent elimination.

“We conceded a goal with an individual error, it happens in football, but the most difficult thing was to break the deadlock and we didn’t do it. Bodo deserve congratulations, they beat us home and away, so clearly they deserved to go through,” Nicolo Barella said to Sky Sport Italia.

-Reporting by Tommy Lund in Milan, additional reporting by Phil O’Connor; Editing by Toby Davis/Reuters