Norwegian club Bodo/Glimt shocked Inter Milan on Wednesday night. They won 3-1 in the first leg of their Champions League knockout play off. The Italian side, last season’s runners up, now face a tough task in the return match.
Bodo/Glimt had already shown strong form in the league phase. They beat Manchester City at home and won away at Atletico Madrid. Playing with confidence, they took the lead in the 20th minute through Sondre Brunstad Fet.
Inter hit back after half an hour. Francesco Pio Esposito scored and the goal stood after a VAR check. But the home side pushed again after the break. Kasper Hogh set up Jens Petter Hauge to score just past the hour. Three minutes later, Hogh added another to seal a famous win.
Inter, who lost heavily to PSG in last season’s final, must now overturn a two goal gap at San Siro next Tuesday. The winner of the tie will face either Manchester City or Sporting in the round of 16.
Newcastle United enjoyed a huge win away in Azerbaijan. They crushed Qarabag 6-1 in Baku. Anthony Gordon led the show with four goals, including two penalties.
Gordon scored early to give Newcastle the lead in the third minute. Malick Thiaw made it 2-0 soon after with a header. Gordon then scored from the spot and added another within a minute to complete his first career hat trick. He struck again from another penalty before half time to make it four for the night.
Jacob Murphy scored Newcastle’s sixth goal in the second half. Qarabag managed one reply through Elvin Jafarguliyev. The big win leaves Newcastle in full control before the second leg at St James’ Park. They will meet either Barcelona or Chelsea in the next round if they go through.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe praised his team after the match. He said the side played one of their best first halves in a long time and now sit in a very strong position.
In Belgium, Club Brugge fought back to draw 3-3 with Atletico Madrid in an exciting match. Atletico scored first through Julian Alvarez from the penalty spot. Ademola Lookman added a second just before half time.
Raphael Onyedika pulled one back soon after the restart. Nicolo Tresoldi then equalised on the hour. Atletico thought they had won when Joel Ordonez put the ball into his own net. But Christos Tzolis scored late to rescue a draw for Brugge and keep the tie open.
Atletico captain Koke admitted the match was full of ups and downs. He said the team must stay more focused.
In Greece, Bayer Leverkusen took a big step towards the last 16. They beat Olympiacos 2-0 away from home. Czech striker Patrik Schick scored twice within four minutes around the hour mark to secure the win.
