The biggest upset in UEFA Champions League history occurred on Tuesday night when Bodo/Glimt, a small Norwegian club, defeated Italian giants Inter Milan 2-1 at San Siro, winning 5-2 on aggregate to reach the Round of 16 for the first time in the club's history.
On 25 Feb 2026 GMT+7, European football was shaken again as Bodo/Glimt, the Norwegian giant-killers, triumphed over Inter Milan, three-time European champions. In this match, the visiting Viking team showed strong defense against the hosts' heavy attacks in the first half, then scored crucial goals from Jens Petter Hauge (his 6th goal this season) and Hakon Evjen, securing wins over the Serie A giants both home and away. They became the first non-top-5 European league team to beat top league opponents in four consecutive matches (defeating Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, and Inter Milan twice).
A remarkable journey from Division 2 to the last 16 of Europe.
The success in Milan was no accident but the result of systematic growth over the past nine years, as follows.
2017 marked a new era with promotion from Norway's Division 2 back to professional top-tier football.
2018 saw them establish themselves fully in Norway's top league and build a strong team foundation.
In 2021, they participated in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers for the first time in club history.
From 2021 to 2025, they gained continuous European experience in the Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League, including notable wins over Roma and Porto.
In 2025, they made history as the first Norwegian club to reach the Europa League semifinals.
The 2025–2026 season marked a new chapter for Norwegian football as Bodo/Glimt became the first club from the country to reach the knockout stage (Round of 16) of the UEFA Champions League.
They set several impressive records such as:
- Being the first Norwegian team to reach the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League and the first since Lillestrom did so in the European Cup (now Champions League) in 1987-88.
- The first team outside Europe’s "Big 5" leagues to win four consecutive European Championship matches against top league opponents (England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France) since Ajax did so in 1971-72, the year Ajax won the title.
"This is a historic moment for Bodo and Norwegian football," said manager Kjetil Knutsen proudly. "We have shown that if we from a small town can do it, anyone can."
Bodo/Glimt’s next challenge is to face the winner between Manchester City and Sporting Lisbon in the Round of 16. At this point, no one likely wants to face the "Yellow Storm" from the Arctic Circle.
