Champions League

Sporting 5-0 Bodo/Glimt: how the Portuguese side completed stunning Champions League comeback

Sporting overturned a 3-0 first-leg deficit with a flawless performance against Bodø/Glimt, who were unrecognizable at José Alvalade.

Pedro Nunes

Iván Cordovilla David Nelson

Update: Mar 17th, 2026 16:51 EDT

The night in Lisbon will be studied in comeback manuals. How do you turn around a 3-0 deficit? Like this: suffocate your opponent and, above all, keep going even as chances go begging. Names like Araújo, Hjulmand and Debast will be talked about for decades in the concourses at José Alvalade. An unforgettable 5-0.

Sporting knew it needed three goals in 90 minutes, not 15. Even if that’s what it looked like out of the gates. Trincão had two chances, the first the clearest, created down the left — a flank that promised trouble with Araújo and Pedro Gonçalves back after missing the first leg. Haikin denied Luis Suárez one-on-one. Pedro Gonçalves missed a tap-in by inches. Sjovold, the more defensive of the two fullbacks, looked rattled. As against Inter, Bodø/Glimt survived the opening 15 minutes without quite knowing how.

Sporting open the scoring

Høgh had a counterattack chance but shot as if trying to get rid of the ball. Bodø/Glimt rode out the next 15 as well, helped by Sporting’s overuse of long diagonal balls and increasingly poor decision-making. But from a corner came what always felt inevitable: Inácio made it 1-0.

Sporting 5-0 Bodo/Glimt: how the Portuguese side completed stunning Champions League comeback — Inácio scores Sporting's first goal with a header.FILIPE AMORIM

The script continued, with yellow shirts constantly under siege. Bjørtuft rattled the crossbar out of nowhere. A counter from Evjen forced a corner and briefly put a scare into the Alvalade crowd. At halftime, Sporting couldn’t believe it had only scored once, while Bodø/Glimt began to slow the tempo.

Sporting still with it all to do

The second half told a different story. Sporting created far less, Bodø/Glimt far more. Berg tested from a free kick, Catamo hit the side netting, Fet’s effort was tame, Hjulmand went close — and then 2-0. On the break, Luis Suárez beat Gundersen. By the time Sjovold realized Pedro Gonçalves was running in behind him, it was too late. The No. 8 finished at the far post.

There were 30 minutes left for one side to find a goal and the other to defend. But one team was surging, the other fading. Sporting resumed its siege, urgency rising. Bjørkan tried to block a Fresneda cross with his arm away from his body and handled. Luis Suárez made no mistake. Twelve minutes of tension.

José Alvalade roared as Sporting pushed. Haikin saved powerful efforts from Luis Suárez and Trincão. Nuno Santos hit the post. By the 90th minute, both sides seemed almost resigned to extra time given the way the attacks were stalling. The referee pointed to it.

A minute and a half makes all the difference

At 91:23, Maxi Araújo’s shot went in. The comeback was complete, capping one of the most magical two-month runs in the Champions League. With Bodø/Glimt still reorganizing, the Uruguayan added a fourth to crown a dazzling individual display. Without him — and without that left flank — this comeback doesn’t happen.

The cruelty peaked when Rafael Nel made it 5-0 with a top-corner finish in extra time. It could even have been six. A brutal ending for a team that defied expectations and went further than anyone believed. A tie both teams will remember for a very, very long time.

Sporting 5-0 Bodo/Glimt: how the Portuguese side completed stunning Champions League comeback

Sporting open the scoring

Sporting still with it all to do

A minute and a half makes all the difference

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