Bodø/Glimt Stun Manchester City 3-1 As Hogh Shines In Champions League Showdown

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Bodo/Glimt produced a dominant 3-1 win over Manchester City in the Champions League, with Kasper Hogh scoring twice and Erling Haaland unusually quiet on a return to Norway. Rodri’s red card on 61 minutes came after two cautions in 53 seconds, but City were already trailing 3-1 and struggling.

The Norwegian side controlled long spells and created the better openings, using aggressive pressing and quick attacks to unsettle Manchester City. Jens Petter Hauge added a brilliant long-range third goal, while Rayan Cherki’s response offered brief hope. Bodo/Glimt finished strongly and might have added more, strengthening play-off ambitions and damaging City’s top-eight target.

Bodo/Glimt set the tone early, pressing high and attacking quickly down the right flank. Their reward arrived on 22 minutes. Hogh flicked a loose ball into Ole Didrik Blomberg’s path, sprinted into the box, then guided a bouncing header past Gianluigi Donnarumma from Blomberg’s return cross, which slipped inside the goalkeeper’s right post.

The Etihad holders were rocked again just 119 seconds later. Blomberg stole possession from Max Alleyne near the touchline, surged forward and crossed low. Hogh arrived unmarked and calmly side-footed beyond Donnarumma. Manchester City’s defence remained vulnerable, and Hogh then missed two further chances for a first-half hat-trick as panic spread.

Manchester City created little before the break, with Haaland below usual standards. Haaland failed to meet Rodri’s downward header from close range, then diverted Nico O’Reilly’s low cross wide of the near post. Those half-chances summed up a flat attacking display against an organised Bodo/Glimt back line throughout the opening period.

The pattern barely changed after half-time. Hogh clipped in another neat finish, but the assistant’s flag ruled offside. Soon after, Bodo/Glimt struck again. Hauge carried the ball through midfield, gliding past challenges before bending a fierce shot into the top-right corner from distance, leaving Donnarumma motionless and City facing a heavy defeat.

Manchester City briefly responded when Cherki finished smartly following sharp footwork from O’Reilly, cutting the deficit to two goals. Any prospect of a comeback ended quickly, though. Rodri halted one counter-attack cynically, then stopped another moments later, collecting two yellow cards in less than a minute and handing Bodo/Glimt full control against ten players.

Hogh had yet another strike ruled out for offside as Bodo/Glimt continued to attack. Donnarumma then blocked Andreas Helmersen’s effort, preventing a fourth goal. The scoreline still carried historical weight, with Bodo/Glimt becoming only the sixth side to lead Manchester City by at least three goals in Champions League history.

Bodo/Glimt Manchester City Champions League statistics

The game highlighted a rare off night for Haaland on Norwegian soil. Haaland entered with 55 Champions League goals from 54 matches, more than all Norwegian clubs combined since 2000-01, who recorded 48 in 42. Against Bodo/Glimt, Haaland managed only 14 touches, following another quiet showing in Saturday’s defeat to Manchester United.

Hogh delivered the kind of display usually expected from Haaland. Hogh became only the second player to score more than once for a Norwegian club against English opposition in the Champions League, matching Hauge’s feat versus Tottenham earlier this season. Hogh’s brace inside 24 minutes was the earliest two-goal haul against City since Son Heung-min’s in April 2019.

Bodo/Glimt’s performance without the ball was also notable. The hosts recorded 271 high pressures during the first half, more than any side across the opening 45 minutes of a Champions League fixture this season. That intensity underpinned a fully deserved victory, which maintained Bodo/Glimt’s push for the play-offs while complicating Manchester City’s route to a top-eight finish.