No-one expected Bodø/Glimt to put up such a fight against Manchester City in the penultimate matchday of the UEFA Champions League but they put on a show in the Arctic Circle. The score was Bodø/Glimt 3-1 Manchester City. Here are some key takeaways.
Bodø/Glimt were outstanding. This isn’t a matter of solely an underperforming Manchester City caught at a bad time, but rather an unbelievable performance from the home side who scored beautiful goals and ran through the midfield with a Ballon D’Or player present (who eventually got sent off) in Rodri. The first was a brilliant bit of play to find the star striker Kasper Høgh with the header to put them up 1-0 in the first half. In quick succession, not even 2 minutes later a wonderful bit of play and perhaps a mistake from the center-back partnership sees it become 2-0. The third was an expertly worked goal that saw Rodri pickpocketed and then he got to watch as Hauge slammed it into the top corner.
Manchester City are no longer what they once were. In various patches along this 25/26 campaign, Manchester City have displayed chinks the the armor. They’ve had injuries to key players and have been unable to cope and with Arsenal powering through Inter Milan tonight, the teams are going opposite directions. The clutch players like Kevin De Bruyne or İlkay Gündoğan are no longer present to make a moment of magic for the Citizens and tonight they were missing a star to lead the team to victory.
Bodø/Glimt have made history. We already knew that this was Bodø/Glimt’s first UCL campaign this 25/26 season but in their first 6 games they were winless; 3 draws and 3 wins and if you had to win one game in the Champions League schedule, you would want Manchester City’s blood the most. They went out on the front foot when they got the ball in City’s half and blitzed them despite a plethora of star presences on the City team like Haaland, Donnarumma, Foden, Reijnders, Cherki, and so on.
Manchester City are at their worst so far this season. Haaland, key striker, has just had his 4th consecutive game without scoring. His scoring record is his worst since his campaign in Molde, and Manchester City haven’t won for the last 5 games in the UCL and Premier League. Players that were once hot at the start of the season like Foden and Cherki have gone cold as snow. With Wolves at the weekend, they’ll be hoping to get a result who have 2 wins and 3 draws in their last 5 games.
A hugely impactful game that affects the trajectory of both sides. Bodø/Glimt have their first win which propels them near the playoff spots and gives them hope into their final fixture of the Champions League league phase against Atletico de Madrid in Spain. Manchester City have Rodri suspended against Galatasaray and need to get a result in order to secure an automatic place in the Champions League. This game could mean more than it seems in isolation.