Another stellar display on their artificial home turf at the Aspmyra Stadium earned Norway’s Bodø/Glimt a 3–0 win over Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie on Wednesday.
The Portuguese side joined the long list of big-name European clubs that have travelled to the small fishing town inside the Arctic Circle and left empty-handed, as Bodø/Glimt cruised to an emphatic victory that puts them firmly in the driving seat for a place in the quarter-finals.
Luis Suárez blazed an early chance over the bar for the visitors, but after that their hosts took control. They went ahead just after the half-hour mark when Giorgos Vagiannidis bundled over Sondre Brunstad Fet in the box.
After a VAR check, the midfielder confidently stroked home the penalty he had won to give his side the lead.
The hosts were 2–0 up by the break. Though there was a slice of luck as Jens Petter Hauge’s through ball deflected into the path of Ole Didrik Blomberg, there was nothing fortunate about his superb finish from a tight angle to double the advantage.
Sporting showed a brief glimmer of attacking intent at the start of the second half, but it was quickly snuffed out.
Bodø should have gone three goals ahead in the 55th minute after the ball pinged around inside the box before eventually going out of play, with defender Jostein Gundersen heading the resulting corner straight at the goalkeeper.
In total control of the game, Bodø grabbed the third goal their performance deserved when Danish striker Kasper Høgh rounded off another fine move. He slipped between two defenders to deftly steer Hauge’s low cross from the left into the net from close range in the 71st minute.
The 3–0 victory — Bodø’s fifth straight win in the competition — leaves Sporting Lisbon with a mountain to climb in the second leg, which will take place in Lisbon next Tuesday.
“It was fun to play again — a fantastic round-of-16 game. We still have a long way to go, but the result is fantastic. It will be an exciting week now. We are halfway there, but we know things can change quickly in football, so we have to be at our best again on Tuesday,” winger Hauge told Norway’s TV2.
“They are a good team with many talented players, but we are also a fantastic team. We have shown that many times now.”
