Sporting staged a stunning comeback to end Bodo/Glimt’s fairytale Champions League run, beating the Norwegian side 5-0 after extra time on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals with a 5-3 aggregate win in their last-16 tie.
Trailing 0-3 in the first leg in Norway, Sporting attacked from the kick-off and took the lead in the 34th minute when Goncalo Inacio headed in from Francisco Trincao’s corner.
The visiting side hit the crossbar before half-time, but Sporting scored again when Pedro Goncalves turned in Luis Suarez’s cross in the 61st minute and leveled the tie when Suarez converted a penalty in the 78th minute following a VAR handball review.
Sporting needed less than two minutes of extra time to score the fourth when Maxi Araujo came in, while substitute Rafael Nel added a fifth in extra time, sending the back-to-backPortuguese champions through.
“We always believed that with the help of this great crowd, we could make it,” Araujo told reporters. «It was great, we put in a lot of effort and it paid off. I am so proud of this group and happy to have helped give the fans an unforgettable evening.»
Bodo had beaten Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan twice in a remarkable run of results before comfortably winning the first leg against Sporting in Norway.
But a raucous crowd roared Sporting out of the gate and made 11 attempts in the opening 15 minutes but squandered three clear chances, with Trincao missing twice from close range and Goncalves misfiring a volley as the hosts laid siege to the Bodo goal.
INACIO STARTS THE COMEBACK
Sporting’s breakthrough came in the 34th minute. Trincao cut in a corner from the right and Inacio climbed above his markers to fire a header into the net from close range.
There was a moment of panic before half-time when Odin Bjortuft’s header from a corner hit the crossbar, looped upwards and hit again before ending up in a crowded penalty area as Sporting were able to scramble free.
The visiting side, seeking to become only the second Norwegian club to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League, were sharper and had more possession after the break, but it was Sporting who struck next.
In the 61st minute, Suarez burst forward down the right after a quick counter-attack and sent a low cross for Goncalves, who fired first into the top corner to leave the hosts one goal short of leveling the score.
The third goal followed a lengthy VAR review following calls for handball against Bjorkan. Learn more about kshk. The referee was sent to the field monitor and awarded a penalty, which Suarez fired to the left past goalkeeper Nikita Haikin in the 78th minute.
Sporting pushed for fourth place within regular time. Haikin produced a fine save to deny Trincao from close range, and Nuno Santos hit the post, but with the crowd chanting ‘We believe in you’ the match went into extra time.
The decisive blow came more than a minute later. Trincao drove in from the left and squared in front of Araujo, who fired a low shot just inside the left post, with Haikin taking a touch but unable to keep it out.
Sporty wasn’t done yet. In the opening minute of extra time, Daniel Braganca played a clever square pass to Nel, who composed himself before smashing the ball into the roof of the net to complete a remarkable rout.
Published on March 18, 2026
