How Bodo/Glimt have stunned UEFA Champions League powerhouses this season as fairytale continues with 3-1 win against Internazionale

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Bodo/Glimt looked dead and buried in the UEFA Champions League before Christmas. However, wins over Manchester City and Atletico Madrid secured a knockout play-off spot and they are now favourites to reach the last-16 after beating Internazionale 3-1 in the first leg in Norway. So how has this all been achieved? TNT sports experts Shay Given and Steve McManaman have their say.

Highlights: Bodo/Glimt claim huge first leg win over Inter

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The UEFA Champions League regularly throws up fairytale stories but few are as remarkable as Bodo/Glimt's this season.

The Norwegian outfit pulled off another shock on Wednesday night by beating Italian giants Internazionale 3-1 in the first leg of their play-off.

That result follows on from victories over Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in the league phase since the turn of the year.

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All this for a club from a town inside the Arctic Circle that gets no sunlight through the winter months.

In fact, their population of just 55,000 could all fit inside San Siro with room to spare.

But what makes their achievement particularly special is that everything has been achieved with relative pennies compared to their rivals.

Kjetil Knutsen's side has an estimated squad value of only £49 million.

The club's record transfer fee was a modest €4.8m (£4.2m) for Albert Gronbaek, who arrived from AGF in 2022.

The Dane has since moved on to Rennes and while cash has been splashed to sign the likes of Jens Petter Hauge and Mathias Jorgensen that sum has not been surpassed.

"It's incredible," TNT Sports expert Shay Given said. "Those last three results [v Inter, Man City, Atletico], standalone results, [are] victories against big European powerhouses really.

"To do it on a budget like that, £49m...they'll probably make more from going through the group stages than what the whole team's worth. It's a great achievement."

Sondre Fet put Bodo/Glimt 1-0 up after 20 minutes against Inter, only for Francesco Pio Esposito to equalise on the half hour.

The expectation was that the Italian giants, three-time European Cup winners, would ease to victory from there.

But that could not have been further from the truth, as they struggled in the freezing conditions in Norway.

Hauge put his side back in front with 61 minutes on the clock before the home crowd went wild when Kasper Hogh made it 3-1 moments later.

It keeps them on course to become the first Scandinavian club to reach the quarter-finals of the European Cup since Rosenborg in 1996/97.

And although some might have been stunned by the result, the same cannot be said for TNT Sports' Steve McManaman.

"It did [go the way] I expected it to," he said. "Because I've seen them many times this year and I've seen Inter struggle.

"But they were incredibly impressive yet again. Brilliant to see. They got their reward today. It's just whether they go to the San Siro and get another result there."

'Again upsetting the odds in Europe' - Hauge stunner puts Bodo/Glimt 2-1 up against Inter

Video credit: TNT Sports

Success in Europe is nothing new for Bodo/Glimt, who reached the UEFA Europa League semi-finals last season.

That run included victories over Olympiacos and Lazio in the knockout stage, before being beaten by eventual champions Tottenham in the last four.

Continental achievements went hand-in-hand with results domestically, where Knutsen guided his side to a second successive title in 2024.

As such, they qualified for the Champions League and reached the league phase for the first time after coming through a qualifying round against Sturm Graz.

Many expected their run to end there and, after amassing only three points from their opening six games, the dream looked set to come to an end.

But victories over City and Atletico in January meant Bodo sneaked into 23rd spot, qualifying for the play-offs on goal difference.

Victory over Inter suggests the run might yet be extended too.

McManaman believes Bodo/Glimt can get a result at San Siro after beating Inter

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"I don't think it will be that difficult [to go to the San Siro and get the job done]," McManaman continued.

"This is not the Inter Milan that we know and we have this romantic notion about.

"When you look at the team, they've still got the Bastonis, the Acerbis, the Mkhitaryans of yesteryear, and yes they can perform like they have shown in Serie A.

"But I think across Europe, they're not. The fact that Bodo/Glimt have been to Atletico Madrid and got a result; they went to the Metropolitano and got a really good result, they can go to the San Siro.

"They're really good footballers. They knock the ball around. It's not just defensive play. They can go and score at the San Siro next week."

The return leg is on Tuesday, 24 February, live on discovery+ and TNT Sports.

Stream the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Men's and Women's FA Cup and more on TNT Sports and discovery+

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