Overview
In the away match at Aspmyra Stadion in the first leg, Inter Milan - the team that has won the European championship three times - suffered a shameful defeat against Bodo/Glimt. The Serie A representative could not adapt to the artificial court, cold weather and coherent playing style of the home team.
Although Inter has twice reached the UEFA Champions League final in the last 3 seasons, and Bodo has only participated in the group stage for the first time, Sondre Fet has closed the 16-pass combination to open the score deservedly for the Norwegian team.
Francesco Pio Esposito soon equalized for Inter, but goals in the second half from Jens Petter Hauge and Kasper Hogh helped Bodo re-establish the lead, ending the impressive away form of Nerazzurri.
Inter entered the play-offs after a volatile group stage journey. They won all 4 of the first matches and only conceded one goal, before losing 3 consecutive matches. Coach Cristian Chivu - a member of the squad that won the treble in 2010 - is under pressure, especially after the decision to rotate the squad in northern Norway.
However, Inter has good records in two knockout matches. If not counting the finals, they won 10 and only lost 2 in the last 16 knockout matches in the Champions League. However, this challenge is very big. In 52 knockout matches, they have only won six times with a 2-goal difference and have never won with a 3-goal difference in the post-season period.
The last team to come back after losing 2 away goals in the first leg was Liverpool in 2019, when they defeated Barcelona in the semi-finals. Since then, 11 teams in similar situations have not been able to advance.
Despite facing the risk of being eliminated early from the European arena, Inter is still thriving in Serie A with a 7-match winning streak. Recently, they defeated Lecce 2-0 thanks to late goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Manuel Akanji, temporarily widening the gap to 10 points.
In the opposite direction, Bodo/Glimt's first Champions League journey seemed to be closed from the group stage, before they created a spectacular breakthrough. 2 consecutive victories against Manchester City (3-1) and Atletico Madrid (2-1) helped the Norwegian representative win a ticket to the next round on their dramatic final day.
After the shock against Inter, Bodo became the first Norwegian club to win 3 consecutive matches in the Champions League. They could become the first Eliteserien team to pass the knockout round since Lillestrom did it in 1987.
Coach Kjetil Knutsen, who has been in charge since 2018, has brought home 4 domestic championships and memorable European victories against Celtic, FC Porto, Lazio and AS Roma. Last season, they even reached the Europa League semi-finals before stopping before Tottenham Hotspur.
Clearly, many things have changed since Inter crushed Bodo with a total score of 7-1 in the C2 Cup season 1978-1979, including a 5-0 victory in Milan. This rematch promises a completely different scenario.
Expected lineup:
Inter Milan: Sommer, Bisseck, Akanji, Bastoni, Henrique, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco, Thuram, Esposito.
Bodo/Glimt: Haikin, Sjovold, Bjortuft, Gundersen, Bjorkan, Evjen, Berg, Fet, Blomberg, Hogh, Hauge.
The match between Inter Milan and Bodo/Glimt takes place at 3:00 AM on February 25 (Vietnam time).
