Arctic Voodoo: Bodo/Glimt Feast on Another Giant
Following Tuesday's dramatic results and on-pitch drama, Wednesday night didn't disappoint, as it was filled with mixed results in the first round of Champions League knockout matches
Let’s start in the north, where fairytales come with frostbite, and where giants fall.
Bodo/Glimt. Population 50,000. Location: above the Arctic Circle. Ambition: to feast on the rich. On Wednesday, the menu featured Inter Milan—the runaway Serie A leaders—served frozen on a sub-arctic pitch. The result? A stunning 3-1 victory that wasn't lucky; it was a statement.
Having already beaten Manchester City and Atletico Madrid this season, the Norwegian's added Inter to their list of casualties, with a four-minute second-half showoff. After Francesco Esposito cancelled out Sondre Brunstad Fet's opener, Jens Petter Hauge and Kasper Hogh turned the tie on its head, leaving Inter's superstars shivering and shell-shocked.
"I don't think people in Milan quite understand what it's like to play here in December," grinned a shivering match-winner, Hauge, afterwards. "The pitch, the wind, the noise. It's not normal football. It's... Bodo."
It's a sentiment echoed by pundit Steve McManaman, who warned the Italians that the tie is far from over despite the trip to the San Siro. "They can get a result at San Siro," McManaman insisted on TNT Sports. "They've shown time, and again they believe they belong here".
Manager Kjetil Knutsen, the former philosophy teacher who has become football's most sought-after genius, put it beautifully: "We have shown that football is not just about money. It's about the heart. These players are not superstars. They are men who love the game. And tonight, they showed that love is enough."
For Inter's Simone Inzaghi, there was only the cold reality of defeat. "We knew what was coming. We prepared for it. And still, they did it. Respect."
The Gordon Era: Four Goals and a Near-Miss Brawl in Baku
If Bodo is about frozen fairytales, Baku was about a proper beating —with a sideline in half-time dressing-room drama.
Anthony Gordon transformed a Champions League play-off into his personal video game, smashing four first-half goals as Newcastle United beat Qarabag 6-1. He became just the second player in Champions League history to net four in the first half. But this being Newcastle, it couldn't be simple. The night ended with Gordon and his own captain, Kieran Trippier, needing to be physically separated at the interval.
The flashpoint? Gordon's relentless greed in front of the goal. After bagging a hat-trick and winning a second penalty, the in-form forward ignored his captain's plea to let designated taker Nick Woltemade take the spot-kick. He buried it himself to make it 5-0.
"Obviously, Gordy's scored a hat-trick, and I was thinking about the other players. I wanted Nick to take the penalty," Trippier explained, revealing the tension. "Listen, in football, emotions are high on the pitch at times. It is what it is. He scored four goals, he was unbelievable today, and we've moved on". Trippier even joked they'd need to "get boxing gloves in training".
Gordon, the newly-crowned club record goalscorer in Europe, was unapologetic about wanting more goals. "I understand everyone's opinion... but I'm an attacker, I'm a penalty taker, so I want to score as many goals as I possibly can," he said. "Records are nice, but I just want to score and win games".
His manager, Eddie Howe, watched the chaos with a wry smile, cheekily suggesting his hitman could have been even more ruthless. "He was really good in that first half. He started the press; a number of his goals came from his attitude off the ball. He could have had more".
Schick's 144-Second Masterclass Silences the Karaiskakis Cauldron
Over in Piraeus, Greece, Bayer Leverkusen finally banished their away-day blues most dramatically. Patrik Schick delivered a two-goal blast in the space of 144 seconds to secure a historic 2-0 victory over Olympiacos—the club's first-ever away win in the Champions League knockout stages at the 10th attempt.
The first half had been a tale of frustration for the Germans. They spurned chance after chance, and then came the ultimate scare. Deep into stoppage time, the Karaiskakis Stadium erupted as Ayoub El Kaabi headed home—only for VAR to rule it out, spotting the slightest of touches from an offside Mehdi Taremi.
"It was a difficult first half. Olympiacos pressed us with high intensity and caused us problems," Schick admitted afterwards. "In the second half, we improved a couple of things, scored two goals, and got an important victory."
And what a victory. On the hour mark, Ernest Poku released Schick, who kept his composure to fire home. Before Olympiacos could draw breath, Alex Grimaldo's corner found the Czech striker unmarked, his thumping header leaving the Greek giants stunned and silent.
The striker, now the highest-scoring Czech player in the Champions League since 2004, credited patience for his performance "As a striker, you have to be patient. Sometimes you have to wait the whole game for just one chance. You have to be ready at all times—that's the job of a striker," he said. "Today I was in the right place".
Leverkusen boss Kasper Hjulmand admitted he feared the worst during that first-half goal drought. "When we missed two or three big, open chances, I thought 'here we go again'," he confessed. "Patrik Schick then made the difference". But he warned against complacency: "We have respect for our opponents. We still haven't found our top level, which is good news"
Brugge's Belgian Waffle Iron Flips Simeone's Script
Finally, to Belgium, where Atletico Madrid did what Atletico Madrid do in Europe these days: snatch a dramatic draw from the jaws of a comfortable victory.
Diego Simeone's side looked home and dry. Julian Alvarez (scoring his 12th in 18 Champions League games) and Ademola Lookman had them 2-0 up and cruising. But in a dizzying nine-minute spell, Club Brugge flipped the script. Super Eagles star Raphael Onyedika sparked the revival, tapping in after Jan Oblak's save, before Nicolo Tresoldi levelled the tie.
Atletico briefly thought Joel Ordonez's own goal had handed them a lifeline, but deep into stoppage time, Christos Tzolis struck to make it 3-3. The initial offside flag was overruled by VAR, sealing a pulsating draw and leaving Simeone's side with an unwanted stat: 15 goals shipped in seven Champions League matches.
For Nigerian fans, however, it was a night to remember. The duo of Onyedika and Lookman were at the heart of the chaos, once again proving their growing influence on Europe's biggest stage. For Atletico, it's another case of winter blues in a competition that won't love them back.
