JAKARTA - How big the difference is in a year or exactly nine months. Last season, Inter Milan reached the Champions League final and did it brilliantly, winning thrilling victories over Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
On Wednesday, February 25, 2026, early morning WIB, the Italian giant was eliminated from the tournament with a disappointing 1-2 defeat at the Giuseppe Meazza against Bodo/Glimt.
Overall, the Nerazzurri were eliminated in the playoff round with a total of 2-5. The result was one of the biggest surprises in the history of the Champions League.
According to Inter Milan manager Cristian Chivu, the result is not a coincidence.
"We know there is a lot of competition in the Champions League. If a team reaches this stage, it means they have something. They have proven it."
"They showed it against Dortmund, against Real Madrid, against Manchester City, against us twice. This is a team that has energy."
"We should have been able to perform better in Norway, we should also have been able to perform better at home, but unfortunately the results were not what we expected. We gave everything to try to advance, that's football," said Chivu.
Inter Milan played without stars Lautaro Martinez and Hakan Calhanoglu due to injuries. However, there was no reason to lose against Bodo/Glimt, who have not even started a game in the Norwegian premier league (Eliteserien) this season.
This is also not the first big surprise that this small Norwegian team has made this season after victories over Manchester City and Atletico Madrid as well as a draw against Borussia Dortmund.
Signs were already visible last season that something was wrong at Inter Milan. The club reached the Champions League final but was destroyed 0-5 by Paris Saint-Germain. They also lost to AC Milan in the Coppa Italia semi-final and finished as runners-up behind Napoli in Serie A.
Coach Simone Inzaghi was then replaced by Chivu, who only had experience as a senior team manager with a few months leading Parma.
The expected overhaul of the aging squad did not happen. Inter Milan did not make any serious spending in the transfer market because they only brought in Ange-Yoan Bonny and Luis Henrique, Petar Sucic, and Manuel Akanji.
This season, the Nerazzurri are 10 points ahead at the top of Serie A and seem to be getting closer to the domestic title, but are struggling in the Champions League.
Inter Milan started the continental tournament well, winning their first three games, but then lost four in a row to finish the league phase in 10th place, one point below the automatic qualification for the last 16.
However, when the Nerazzurri were favored to advance to the last 16 through the playoffs, reality said otherwise. They were eliminated from the small team, even in both legs.
"Bodo/Glimt won both games, so they deserved to qualify. They didn't give us any big trouble. The hardest thing is scoring goals and we couldn't."
"Of course, there is disappointment because our desire is to fight on all fronts. We tried, they were better. With one more goal, we would have qualified and would have saved ourselves from this playoff, but this is a new Champions League," midfielder Nicolo Barella said of the playoff defeat.
Inter Milan needs at least two goals on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, to advance after losing 1-3 in the first leg.
They attacked right from the start. They had a number of chances, but were prevented from scoring by a solid defense and great reflexes from Bodo/Glimt goalkeeper Nikita Haikin.
Indeed, most of the statistics other than the final score indicate that Inter Milan dominated the match. They had 32 shots on goal compared to seven for the opponent and completed 552 passes compared to 192.
"We have to give credit and congratulate the opponent because they did what they had to do and they did it very well."
"You know the level is high in the Champions League. If you can't be clinical and alert in front of the goal, then the opponent will punish you," said Chivu.
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