Four more teams confirmed spots in the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday night, including plucky Norwegian outfit Bodø/Glimt.
Last season’s Europa League semi-finalists had a 3–1 lead to protect against Inter at San Siro in order to qualify for the last 16 in their debut season in Europe’s elite club competition. And while they were forced to weather a first half storm from Cristian Chivu’s Nerazzurri, Bodø held their nerve, and even extended the lead, to set up a potential rematch with Manchester City in the next round.
Bodø’s remarkable elimination of the three-time winners will understandably dominate the headlines. But you would do well to eke anything out of Bayer Leverkusen’s stalemate with Olympiacos, which saw the Bundesliga side progress into the last 16 for the second season running.
Here are four major talking points from Tuesday night’s Champions League action.
Jens Petter Hauge Ready to Return to Big Time
Bodø/Glimt’s fairytale run continues, and while so much has gone into building the small town club from the Arctic Circle into slayers of some of the continent’s grandest institutions, Kjetil Knutsen has undoubtedly been aided by the individual brilliance of Jens Petter Hauge in attack.
The winger wound up at AC Milan in 2020 after breaking through at Bodø, but his first shot at the big time failed to satisfy. Hauge was seldom used by the Rossoneri and was later quiet during a loan spell at Eintracht Frankfurt. A return to Bodø in 2024 has proven to be the making of the 26-year-old, who has been the star of their magical Champions League campaign.
Knutsen’s outstanding outfit didn’t merely hold onto their 3–1 advantage at the iconic San Siro on Tuesday night, but instead claimed yet another memorable triumph.
This is not a team that’s reliant on the idiosyncrasies of their harsh home environment, where Manchester City were convincingly beaten last month. They’d already drawn away at Borussia Dortmund and won against Atlético Madrid in Spain before stunning the Nerazzurri for a second time, and Hauge has scored in all three away trips, contributing to his six-goal Champions League tally.
His San Siro strike was perhaps the simplest of an otherwise stellar goal collection, and the form he’s displayed against some of Europe’s biggest clubs suggests he’s ready for another major move away once the dust settles on Bodø’s magical journey.
Start of Potentially Bleak Week for Italian Football
Even when Serie A teams were represented in the finals of all three UEFA club competitions in 2022–23, there was an underlying angst regarding the direction of the Italian game.
This was no tactical or philosophical anxiety, rather an existential one. Once the cream of the global football, calcio has lagged behind its rivals for years, with many lamenting the lack of investment in infrastructure and the absence of elite Italian footballers being nurtured at the highest level.
The Azzurri’s success at Euro 2020 was, ultimately, a false dawn, as was Serie A’s handsome performance in Europe three seasons ago. Fittingly, Inter, Roma and Fiorentina all lost their respective finals that year.
Last week’s pitiful Champions League showing allowed the aforementioned anxieties to resurface, with commentators pleading for regeneration. Inter, Atalanta and Juventus suffered defeats in the first legs of their playoff ties, and last season’s hammered finalist has now joined Napoli in exiting the competition early. La Dea and The Old Lady look set to follow on Wednesday night.
Barring a major turnarounds in Turin or Bergamo, Serie A won’t be represented among the final 16 clubs for the first time since the Champions League’s inaugural season in 1992–93.
That looming statistic, many hope, has to ignite a rethink.
Life After Antoine Griezmann
The signs are pointing towards the 2025–26 season being Antoine Griezmann’s last with Atlético Madrid. The 34-year-old has long flirted with a potential move to Major League Soccer (MLS), and recent reports suggest the 2018 World Cup winner will follow in Kaká’s footsteps to join Orlando City.
Should Griezmann depart as expected, he’ll exit the Spanish capital for a second time with a glowing legacy. A major title may have eluded him up to this point, but he’s played a leading role in Atléti’s journey to the Copa del Rey final (assuming they don’t botch a 4–0 advantage over Barcelona next month). Thanks to Alexander Sørloth scoring a hat-trick against Club Brugge to advance another stage, they also remain outsiders to conquer the continent.
Griezmann got the nod alongside fellow second striker Julian Álvarez in the first leg last week, but Diego Simeone, who made a couple of bold selection calls on Tuesday night, opted to retain Sørloth in favour of Griezmann after his former super sub notched a brace against Espanyol at the weekend.
It doesn‘t take a genius to work out that Sørloth provides a wildly alternative threat to the aesthetic Frenchman, and the Norwegian’s brute force paid dividends against dangerous Belgian opposition.
Brugge’s Brandon Mechele had a night to forget up against the Ivan Drago-like figure in red and white stripes. Sørloth was aided by a vintage Simon Mignolet blunder, but he nonetheless became just the second Atlético Madrid player to score a hat-trick in this competition after Mario Mandžukić in 2014.
Now, Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur await in the last 16.
Newcastle Tease Setting Champions League Record
Newcastle United started the second leg of their mismatch of a playoff tie with a clear objective in mind.
Having thumped Qarabağ 6–1 in Baku last week, the Magpies had the chance to set a new Champions League record for the biggest margin of victory in a knockout stage fixture when the teams convened at St. James’ Park on Tuesday night.
Bayern Munich’s 12–1 aggregate beatdown of Sporting CP in 2009 looked under serious threat when Sandro Tonali and Joelinton helped the hosts into a 2–0 lead just six minutes into the second leg. At that point, the Magpies were four goals adrift of Bayern’s 11.
However, the remaining 84 minutes were somewhat of a damp squib. Qarabağ’s resolve was admirable, scoring twice to cut into the huge deficit, but Newcastle still won on the night thanks to Kieran Trippier’s second-half strike. In the end, they couldn’t even match Paris Saint-Germain’s double-digit haul from last season’s playoffs, settling for a 9–3 success over two legs.
At least Eddie Howe was able to offer a few of his stars respite ahead of Everton’s visit in the Premier League this weekend.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Four Talking Points From Tuesday’s Champions League Action: Bodo/Glimt Advance, Serie A Pain.
