Inter Milan exited the Champions League with a whimper on Tuesday as they were beaten 2-1 (5-2 agg) by Bodo/Glimt at the San Siro.
Last year’s runners-up are yet to fully recover from the humbling final defeat by Paris Saint-Germain which left them facing a comprehensive squad rebuild.
They were perhaps unlucky not to secure an automatic round of 16 berth, missing out by just one point in the league phase, but were unable to rescue their campaign in the play-off stage.
After a dismal first leg saw them beaten 3-1 in Norway, Inter had a point to prove on return to Italy, but were slow off the mark again on home soil.
The first-half passed largely without incident, but the tourists put Inter to the sword shortly after the break, with Jens Petter Hauge opening the scoring on 58 minutes to put the result further out of reach.
Hakon Evjen doubled the advantage a quarter of an hour later, putting Bodo four clear on aggregate, meaning Alessandro Bastoni’s late effort was mere consolation.
It is back to the drawing board for Inter, then, who can now focus on defending their ten-point lead atop the Serie A table.
Back on Tyneside, Eddie Howe guided Newcastle into the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time as they sealed their passage from the play-offs with an entertaining 3-2 home victory over Qarabag.
The tie was effectively over before a ball was kicked at St James' Park after last week's 6-1 first leg win in Baku, and it certainly was within six minutes of kick-off thanks to quickfire goals from Sandro Tonali and Joelinton.
Camilo Duran and Elvin Jafarguliyev scored either side of Sven Botman's second-half header to make things interesting, but ultimately the Magpies progressed 9-3 on aggregate.
In the process, they ensured that the Premier League will have six representatives in the next round, with Howe's men joining Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham on the big stage.
Elsewhere, Olympiacos were knocked out by Bayer Leverkusen after a goalless draw in Athens, while Alexander Sorloth’s hat-trick helped Atletico Madrid ease past Club Brugge in the early kick-off.
Additional reporting: Press Association.
