Half of the teams in the knockout stage have now booked their places in the Champions League round of 16, as Atletico Madrid, Newcastle United, Bayer Leverkusen, and Bodo/Glimt will enter Friday’s draw to see their opposition in the next round. While Newcastle’s tie was essentially determined in the first leg, there was more jeopardy on the line in the remaining fixtures with Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt booking their first-ever Champions League round of 16 berth following former Milan player Jens Petter Hauge taking advantage of Jan Sommer spilling the ball.
For Cristian Chivu and Inter, it’s a disappointing result to say the least, and one that will be tough to bounce back from in Serie A play. Inter have arguably suffered the biggest upset in Champions League knockout history, and the Norwegian side will look forward to facing either Manchester City, who they’ve already beaten, or Sporting CP in the next stage.
Earlier, Alexander Soloroth took center stage with a hat trick to put Atletico Madrid through to the round of 16, where they’ll face either Liverpool or Tottenham, but American Johnny Cardoso also had the deciding goal. As Cardoso pushes for regular playing time in Diego Simeone’s side and a place at the World Cup with the United States men’s national team, scoring screamers from outside the box will help with that.
Newcastle United, despite coming in with a five-goal lead on aggregate, wasted no time eliminating any chance of drama in their match with two goals in seven minutes of play from Sando Tonali and Joelinton. Qarabag made things interesting, scoring a few goals, but it was too little too late while Bayer Leverkusen held the line keep Olympiacos from scoring and professionaly see out their own passage to the round of 16.
Tuesday’s Champions League scores
- Atlético Madrid 4, Club Brugge 1 (7-4 Atlético Madrid on aggregate)
- Bayer Leverkusen 0, Olympiacos 0 (2-0 Bayer Leverkusen on aggregate)
- Inter 1, Bodo/Glimt 2 (5-2 Bodo/Glimt on aggregate)
- Newcastle United 3, Qarabag 2 (9-3 Newcastle on aggregate)
Wednesday’s Champions League schedule
All times Eastern, all matches available on Paramount+
- Atalanta vs. Borussia Dortmund, 12:45 p.m.
- Juventus vs. Galatasaray, 3 p.m.
- PSG vs. Monaco, 3 p.m.
- Real Madrid vs. Benfica, 3 p.m.
The Norwegian job
Inter may have been without Lautaro Martinez facing Bodo/Glimt, but they had no issues creating chances with left back Federico Dimarco pulling the strings. They took a whopping 30 shots, though most didn’t come from good positions, with Inter averaging an expected goals per shot of only 0.07 in this loss. It’s something that signifies that the absence of midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu may have been the biggest miss for Inter while trying to break down a disciplined Bodo defense. As each shot and corner was defended, it only gave the Norwegian side more confidence before they were able to break the tie open in the second half with the help of mistakes from Inter.
CBS Sports
With the Norwegian Eliteserien not returning to regular play until March due to the weather in the nation, all of Bodo’s focus is on doing the best that they can in the Champions League. Usually, that would be seen as a disadvantage, but after four consecutive wins, taking out Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, and Inter Milan twice, no one can look past Bodo/Glimt, and a large reason for that is not only the system that manager Kjetil Knutsen has put together, but also the scorching form that Petter Hauge is in. If you want to see what confidence looks like on a chart, look no further than the Champions League matches (including qualifiers) that he has taken part in over the last two seasons.
CBS Sports
Bodo’s best performances have come alongside Petter Hauge taking over, and there’s no reason that they can’t keep this rolling further through this competition. They may be treated as underdogs, but the title should be shed after the teams that they’ve taken out along the way. The knockouts are usually when underdog stories come to an end, which is a detriment to Champions League play, so the longer Bodo’s story can go, the better for all parties — except maybe Inter.
Americans keep it going
Malik Tillman and Cardoso have booked their places in the round of 16 in very different ways. Tillman missed out for Leverkusen with an ankle injury, but he has played a role in their Champions League success with two goals in eight appearances. He’s still trying to lock down a regular role in the squad under Kasper Hjulmand, but when available, Tillman has been an improtant createive part of the side.
For Cardoso, what better time to score his first Champions League goal with an effort from outside the box? Like Tillman, he has struggled with injuries this season, but with Conor Gallagher’s move to Tottenham during the winter transfer window, the door is wide open for Cardoso to secure a starting role for Atleti while also pushing for one with the USMNT.
Cardoso’s goal is impressive, but so is his resilience. After losing his man on Club Brugge’s equalizer at the end of the first half, Cardoso had a short memory and got the go-ahead goal while playing a great match, breaking up Brugge attacks with five interceptions and taking a few shots. He’s not a midfielder who is going to jump off the page, but you can see why Diego Sieone sees a place for him in the heart of this midfield. Cardoso doesn’t need to make a ton happen going forward due to the strength of the wingers, but against such a dynamic side as Brugge, his ability to break up play was critical, and more will be needed in the round of 16.
