Champions League playoffs: Bodø/Glimt stuns Inter Milan, Gordon hits four as Newcastle routs Qarabag
Tiny Bodø/Glimt produced another Champions League shock by stunning last year’s beaten finalist Inter Milan 3-1 in the playoffs on Wednesday.
The Norwegian underdog followed up back-to-back wins against Manchester City and Atletico Madrid by securing a two-goal advantage going into next week’s second leg in Milan.
Anthony Gordon scored four goals in the first half as Newcastle routed Qarabag 6-1.
Atletico drew 3-3 away to Club Brugge and Bayer Leverkusen has a 2-0 lead after its first leg at Olympiacos.
Bodø/Glimt’s latest upset
Bodø/Glimt is fast becoming the unlikely story of this season’s Champions League, producing one upset after another.
After booking its place in the playoffs with wins against City and Atletico, it strengthened its chances of advancing to the round of 16 with victory against Italian league leader Inter.
Sondre Fet put the home team ahead after collecting Kasper Hogh’s backheel in the 20th minute.
Francesco Pio Esposito equalized before the break, but Bodø/Glimt took control in the second half.
Hogh produced a second assist to set up Jens Petter Hauge in the 61st and then got a goal himself three minutes later.
“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.
Inter was a beaten finalist in two of the last three seasons, but 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.
Rampant Newcastle
Newcastle was 5-0 up by halftime against Qarabag in Azerbaijan and, barring an unlikely collapse in the second leg at home, is cruising into the round of 16.
Gordon completed his hat trick in 33 minutes at the Tofik Bakhramov Stadium in Baku and got a fourth in first-half added time.
He now has 10 Champions League goals this season, breaking Alan Shearer’s Newcastle record of six in a single campaign in European soccer’s top club competition.
“He could have had more, but (it was) a very good display,” coach Eddie Howe said.
Malick Thiaw was also on target for the Premier League team, which had 16 shots in a rampant first half.
Elvin Jafarguliyev pulled one back for Qarabag, which has been one of the surprise stories of this season’s Champions League after qualifying for the playoffs. But Jacob Murphy’s deflected strike completed the rout for Newcastle, which will be the fifth English team in the last 16 if it advances.
Atletico held in Brugge
Atletico blew a two-goal lead at Club Brugge and then saw the Belgians come back again with an equalizer in the 89th to keep the teams neck and neck at 3-3.
Julian Alvarez’s eighth-minute penalty was followed by another goal from January signing Ademola Lookman in first-half added time.
Raphael Onyedika pulled a goal back six minutes into the second half after Nicolo Tresoldi’s effort was saved. Tresoldi then leveled on the hour.
Atletico regained the lead in the 70th through an own goal from Joel Ordonez, but Christian Tzolis produced a final twist in the 89th.
Two goals from Patrik Schick put Leverkusen in complete control against Olympiacos, with the Germans winning 2-0 ahead of the home second leg.
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