BODO, Norway — Champions League runner-up Inter Milan became the latest top team to suffer an upset by Bodø/Glimt in the Champions League, losing 3-1 away in the first leg of their playoff on Wednesday.
The Norwegian outsider has been the surprise story of this season’s competition after beating Manchester City at home and Atlético Madrid away to make the playoffs.
The club is located north of the Arctic Circle — which is farther north than any team in Champions League history.
Serie A leader Inter was seeking a seventh straight win in all competitions, but fell behind in the 20th minute when midfielder Sondre Brunstad Fet netted with a neat finish.
Although burly striker Pio Esposito equalized with an opportunist finish 10 minutes later, the home side picked off Inter with two goals in quick succession in the second half.
Both were similar, with quick passing and unselfish assists.
For the second goal, forward Kasper Høgh rolled the ball for Jens Petter Hauge to launch a powerful shot into the top corner in the 61st.
The winger, who once had a brief spell in Serie A with AC Milan, jumped and kicked the corner flag in celebration.
“I feel amazing, just thankful to play with this team. I’m happy that I could help the team by making assists and scoring a goal. I play in a good team, so that’s nice,” Hogh said.
The fans at the 8,000-capacity Aspmyra Stadion were cheering again three minutes later when Høgh scored the third goal after being teed up by Ole Didrik Blomberg.
The return leg is next Tuesday and Inter — a beaten finalist in two of the last three seasons — now faces a major test to advance to the next round.
“A bad result for us and a bad night for us, but we need to stay calm and believe that we can win at home,” Inter midfielder Petar Sucic said.
