PARIS: Manchester City were on the wrong end of one of the biggest shocks in Champions League history on Tuesday, stunned 3-1 against small Norwegian club Bodo/Glimt, while title holders Paris St Germain suffered a 2-1 defeat at Sporting Lisbon as Luis Suarez completed his brace by scoring the winner in the 90th minute.
Arsenal became the first team to secure direct qualification for the last 16 after a 3-1 win over Inter Milan, retaining their 100% record in the league stage after seven rounds, while Kylian Mbappe scored a brace and Vinicius Junior turned his own fans’ jeers into cheers by scoring for Real Madrid in a 6-1 win over Monaco.
It wasn’t a good day for Bundesliga clubs as 10-man Borussia Dortmund were beaten 2-0 by Tottenham Hotspur and Bayer Leverkusen lost 2-0 at Olympiacos.
Elsewhere, Ajax came from behind to beat Villarreal 2-1, FC Copenhagen snatched a 1-1 draw against Napoli with 10 men and Club Brugge beat Kairat Almaty 4-1.
Pep Guardiola’s team of superstar City players have arrived in the cold town of Bodo, a Norwegian fishing town 200km north of the Arctic Circle whose team is playing in the Champions League for the first time this season. for his seventh and penultimate championship match as big favorite.
But they came unstuck in icy conditions when Kasper Hogh’s first half brace and a second-half strike from Jens Petter Hauge in the ecstatic 8,000-capacity Aspmyra Stadion sparked a seismic upset.
Rayan Cherki responded after Hauge’s goal, but Rodri’s dismissal for two cards left City in tatters and facing a long journey home.
“At the end of the day, it’s embarrassing,” said City’s Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, whose team was coming off an abject derby defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday.
Even though the pitch was artificial, the result was not wrong: Bodo/Glimt’s first victory in the group stage gave them hope of qualifying for the play-offs.
“I feel incredibly good! I think we played a very good match today and we know we are facing a world-class team,” said Bodo/Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen.
City didn’t look like a team that spent $500 million on players over the past 12 months, with its fragile and injured defense constantly breached on the counterattack. The hosts had two potential goals disallowed for narrow offside decisions and also hit the crossbar.
Glimt opened the scoring in the 22nd after Ole Didrik Blomberg tripped inside the area, but retained possession and lifted the ball for Høgh’s header. Just two minutes later, Høgh added a second goal to his name and Hauge curled into the top corner in the 58th to make it 3-0.
Cherki reduced the lead for the visitors in the 60th but things got complicated when Rodri was sent off.
“Since the new year, everything has started to go against us in many, many areas,” Guardiola said. “I know how good a team Bodo is. I didn’t underestimate them. I don’t know much but they reached the semi-final last season of the Europa League and they had fresh minds.
“We arrived in some departments without important players who give consistency to the team. They are a bit fragile, as they were last season at a certain period. As they fought at 10 against 11, a lot of players improved, but we need to quickly change the dynamic for the next match against Wolves and then for the last match against Galatasaray.
Colombia international Suarez’s 90th-minute header gave Sporting victory over PSG, who, like City, have work to do in next week’s final round to automatically qualify for the knockout stages by finishing in the top eight and avoid having to go through the two-legged playoffs for a second consecutive season.
Suarez gave Sporting the lead before substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia equalized after 79 minutes.
PSG, who became European champions for the first time last season, fell to fifth place and City to seventh.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are now enjoying their longest Champions League winning streak and are assured of a top-two finish.
Gabriel Jesus scored the first two goals at San Siro for the Premier League leaders and the man he preceded – Viktor Gyokeres – came off the bench to score the third.
“It’s a dream night,” said Jesus, 28. “I always dreamed of being a footballer. I watched it when I was a kid. I watched Serie A a lot, so to be here in this stadium and score here, it brings tears to my eyes because I always dreamed of being here.”
The Gunners took an early lead when Jesus slipped to score into the net in the 10th, but they failed to fully clear the remains after Marcus Thuram’s effort and Petar Sucic took control of the ball to equalize for Inter in the 18th.
Jesus, however, nodded in Leandro Trossard’s rebounded header and completed his brace in the 31st before Gyokeres put the match to bed in the 84th as Inter, last season’s heavily beaten finalists who lost three consecutive games in the competition for the first time, slipped to ninth place.
MBAPPE LEADS THE GALA EVENING FOR REAL
Real, under new coach Alvaro Arbeloa, produced a dazzling attacking performance to help fans forget recent disappointments and move the record 15-time European champions from seventh to second behind unstoppable Arsenal.
Mbappe broke Real’s deadlock against his former team in the fifth minute, sweeping away a pass from Federico Valverde at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. He found the net a second time in the 26th minute, completing a play initiated by a fabulous backheel pass from Eduardo Camavinga.
Franco Mastantuono added his name to the scoresheet in the 51st before Thilo Kehrer scored an own goal four minutes later while trying to clear a cross from Vinicius.
Part of the crowd had jeered Vinícius almost every time he touched the ball, such as during the La Liga victory over Levante on Saturday. The Brazilian striker has had a disappointing season and some fans see him as one of the reasons why manager Xabi Alonso was replaced last week.
However, the home fans applauded Vinícius after his solo goal which made it 5-0 in the 63rd minute.
Monaco managed to pull one back through Jordan Teze in the 72nd, but Jude Bellingham completed Madrid’s huge win in the 80th.
“It was a very beautiful moment,” Vinicius Jr told Movistar of his goal. “I had given a lot of assists and all my teammates were saying I had to score. It’s important to have the trust of my teammates, we are a family.”
There was a much-needed reprieve for Tottenham boss Thomas Frank as Cristian Romero and Dominic Solanke scored against 2024 finalists Dortmund, who had midfielder Daniel Svensson sent off in the first half, to put Spurs in automatic knockout qualification territory.
Italian champions Naples face elimination after being held to a draw by Copenhagen and demoted to 23rd place. Those who finish 25th or lower in the 36-team standings won’t even qualify for the playoffs.
Copenhagen saw captain Thomas Delaney sent off after a VAR check in the 35th and were led to Scott McTominay’s goal four minutes later before Jordan Larsson equalized.
Kairat was in no danger of registering their first three points of the campaign as the bottom of the 36-team table was swept aside by Bruges, while Villarreal conceded in the 89th to lose to Ajax.
Published in Dawn, January 22, 2026
