Trailing by two goals after losing in Norway, Inter Milan must produce a major comeback when they host Bodo/Glimt in the second leg of their Champions League playoff.
Setting up tonight’s showdown at San Siro, Bodo beat Inter 3-1 last week, taking a big stride towards the last 16, where either Manchester City or Sporting Lisbon will await.
Visiting Aspmyra Stadion for the first leg, three-time European champions Inter meekly succumbed to defeat, failing to cope with a plastic pitch, sub-zero conditions and a more fluent home side.
The Nerazzurri have also reached the Champions final twice in the past three seasons, while Bodo/Glimt were knockout stage debutants, but Sondre Fet finished off a 16-pass move to deservedly put the hosts in front.
Though Francesco Pio Esposito soon pulled the visitors level, second-half strikes from Jens Petter Hauge and Kasper Hogh put Bodo back in charge of the tie and ended Inter’s superb run of results on the road.
The Nerazzurri had arrived in the playoffs via an uneven league-phase campaign, in which they won their first four games while conceding just one goal, before suffering three consecutive defeats.
So, rookie coach Cristian Chivu a 2010 treble winner with the Italian club has come under some scrutiny, particularly after resting key players in northern Norway.
Over recent years, Inter have excelled in two-legged ties: excluding finals, they have won 10 and lost just two of their last 16 Champions League knockout matches.
However, they have been left with a mountain to climb ahead of today’s return, having only won by two goals in six of their 52 knockout contests; they have never won by three in the latter stages.
Indeed, the last team to qualify after a two-goal away defeat in the first leg was Liverpool back in 2019, when they memorably stunned Barcelona in the semi-finals; 11 sides have since found themselves in that situation but failed to progress.
Staring at a potential early exit from Europe, Inter are at least set to reclaim the Scudetto, following a run of seven straight wins in Serie A.
Bodo/Glimt’s first foray into the Champions League proper had seemed set to end in the league phase, before the competition’s most northerly club slipped through with a grandstand finale.
Having recovered from failing to win any of their first six games by winning the last two 3-1 at home to Manchester City and 2-1 away to Atletico Madrid they seized the penultimate qualifying spot on a chaotic final matchday.
Now, having pulled off yet another upset on home turf, they are the first Norwegian club to post three successive wins in Europe’s top competition.
More pertinently, Bodo could become the first Eliteserien side to progress from a knockout tie since Lillestrom made it through the first round way back in 1987.
Last year, they even reached the Europa League semi-finals, only losing to eventual winners Tottenham Hotspur, and Glimt have won six of their last eight two-legged European ties.
Much has changed, then, since Inter strode to a 7-1 aggregate victory over Bodo in the 1978-79 Cup Winners’ Cup, when the Italian giants comfortably won 5-0 in Milan.
Despite missing their top scorer, the hosts have just welcomed Denzel Dumfries back from a long layoff, while influential midfielders Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu can both return after serving Serie A bans on Saturday.
Bodo boast their own prolific forwards, as Hogh has scored four goals in his last three Champions League matches, while ex-AC Milan man Hauge has netted five so far this term.
Set for a return to San Siro, the latter was also the only player to create 20-plus chances and complete at least 20 dribbles during the league phase.
Ulrik Saltnes was back on the bench last week, leaving Knutsen with a full squad to choose from: ever-present trio Odin Bjortuft, Patrick Berg and Fredrik Sjovold each of whom have played every minute in this European campaign – should all start again.-sportsmole
Fixtures
Atletico vs. Brugge
B. Leverkusen vs. Olympiacos
Newcastle vs. Qarabag
Trusted News. Real Stories. Anytime, Anywhere.
Join our WhatsApp Channel now! https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbAjG7g3gvWajUAEX12Q
Follow the latest videos and updates on the official YouTube channel of Ghanaian Times.