Champions League upsets before Bodø/Glimt beat Inter

Bodø/Glimt’s Fairytale Night in the San Siro

But not only would Kjetil Knutsen’s men progress to the round of 16 against all odds, but they would also pick up a stunning win in the San Siro as 11/1 outsiders on the night. Inter pressed for the opening goal of the second leg, knowing that if that had come early, the floodgates may well have opened. Instead, however, the Norwegians made it through to half-time at 0-0, and in the second half, they would make their illustrious opponents pay for their missed opportunities.

Two goals in 12 second-half minutes from talisman Jens Petter Hauge and Håkon Evjen gave the visitors a 2-0 lead on the night and a whopping four-goal lead on aggregate with just 18 minutes of the two-legged tie remaining. Alessandro Bastoni would pull a goal back for the Nerazzurri, but it was far too little, too late. Now, Glimt have their first-ever Champions League round of 16 tie to look forward to, becoming the first Norwegian team since Rosenborg 29 years ago to make it this far in Europe’s most illustrious competition.

The rise of the Superlaget in recent years is the stuff of fairytales. Glimt was a Norwegian second-tier team barely a decade ago, but now they are a household name all across Europe. In recent campaigns, they have beaten the likes of Roma, Celtic, Besiktas, Porto, and Lazio, even reaching the Europa League semifinals last season. But nothing compares to their heroics this term.

Giants Manchester City and Atletico Madrid have already been beaten in the Champions League, and now, Inter Milan has been vanquished as well. But which other underdogs from unheralded nations have managed to pull off knockout round stunners in recent years? Let’s take a look.

APOEL Nicosia Reach the Quarterfinals

Cypriot football has been back in the headlines this season as Pafos made it through to the Champions League initial league phase. However, 14 years ago, APOEL Nicosia was writing a script unlike anything the tiny Mediterranean island had ever seen before.

Before the 2011/12 season, only two Cypriot clubs had ever qualified for the Champions League, the first being Anorthosis in 2008/09 and the second being APOEL the following year. Neither of them progressed to the knockout rounds, but the side from the capital was about to put that right in their second crack at the whip.

APOEL entered the 2011/12 season as rank outsiders, but they managed to upset the odds as they progressed to the Round of 16 as shock winners of Group D ahead of Zenit St. Petersburg, former champions FC Porto, and Shakhtar Donetsk. But the best was yet to come.

In the round of 16, the Cypriots faced French heavyweights Lyon, the team that had dominated Ligue 1 throughout the entirety of the noughties. An Alexandre Lacazette goal handed the French side a 1-0 lead heading into the second leg in Cyprus, but APOEL were unmoved by their underdog tag. They would pick up a 1-0 win of their own in the second leg, forcing a penalty shootout in which goalkeeper Dionisios Chiotis became the hero.

The shots-stopper saved penalties from Lacazette and winger Michel Bastos to seal a stunning win for his side and a spot in the quarterfinals opposite Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid. Los Blancos would ultimately have too much to handle, winning 8-2 across the two legs, but not before APOEL had embarked upon an underdog story for the ages.

Club Brugge Take Full Advantage of the Revamped UCL

Okay, this one isn’t quite as shocking as the stories of Bodø/Glimt and APOEL Nicosia, but it’s not very often you see a Belgian team in the Champions League latter stages. Last season, though, Club Brugge ensured that we did.

Last season marked the first time that the UCL had its new-normal initial league phase, and they took full advantage of the 24 teams progressing to the knockout round. Victories against Sturm Graz and Aston Villa saw them progress as the 24th and final seed for the knockout playoff round, but that wasn’t the major story. The major story was what was to come.

They met reigning Europa League champions Atalanta in the Knockout Playoff Round, and much like the two minnows we have discussed, were huge underdogs to progress. Instead, however, they ripped up the betting odds with stunning victories home and away to knock off the Bergamo club by an aggregate score of five goals to two. In the round of 16, their fairytale run would come to an end against Aston Villa, but Brugge was firmly planted on the map as a team that no one in Europe wanted to face.