Bodø/Glimt saw off Sporting Lisbon in the first leg to take a 3-0 lead back to Portugal.
Photo by Mats Torbergsen / NTB / AFP via Getty Images
Norwegian outfit Bodo/Glimt took another step forward in their remarkable Champions League journey after a statement 3-0 win over Sporting Lisbon.
Sondre Brunstad Fet put the hosts ahead shortly after the half-hour mark from the penalty spot, before Ole Didrik Blomberg doubled their advantage just before the break.
Kasper Høgh finished from close range after a cross from the left, converting a slick Bodo move with 20 minutes to play to ensure the Norwegian side would take a three-goal lead back to the Portuguese capital.
Sporting became the latest favored team to travel far north and struggle inside the Arctic Circle this year.
Manchester City and Inter Milan were each beaten 3-1 on the artificial turf field since Bodø/Glimt began the year looking sure to fall short of reaching the knockout rounds.
It is now a remarkable five straight wins in the Champions League — all during the offseason in Norway. The country’s domestic league does not start until this weekend.
Bodø/Glimt led in the 32nd minute when Sondre Brunstad Fet scored with a penalty kick, deceiving Sporting goalkeeper Rui Silva who dived right as the ball went low to his left.
Ole Blomberg added a second in first-half stoppage time, sliding in a low shot after the ball bounced through to him.
Center forward Kasper Høgh added a third in the 71st being strong in the goalmouth to connect with Jens Petter Hauge’s hard-driven low cross. It was Høgh’s fifth goal in the five-win streak.
None of the goalscorers has even played for their national team. Fet at age 29 and the 25-year-old Blomberg are yet to be selected for Norway, who are soon going to its first World Cup in a generation.
Høgh, also 25, has not been picked for Denmark, which is in a World Cup qualifying playoffs bracket this month.
The team from the Norwegian Sea fishing town would be the most unlikely Champions League quarterfinalist of recent years. APOEL from Cyprus reached the last eight in 2012 and was beaten by Real Madrid.
The winner after the return game in Lisbon next Tuesday will advance to play either Arsenal or Bayer Leverkusen who drew 1-1 Wednesday in the first leg in Germany.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.
