Sporting pull miraculous comeback to crush Bodo/Glimt to Reach UCL Quarter-Finals

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Sporting CP produced one of the most astonishing comebacks in recent Champions League history on Tuesday, demolishing Bodo/Glimt 5-0 after extra time to overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit and seal a 5-3 aggregate victory that sends them into the quarter-finals.

The Portuguese side, written off by many after their humiliation in Norway last week, delivered a performance of breathtaking intensity at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, scoring three times in normal time before adding two more in extra time to complete a scarcely believable turnaround.

From the opening minutes, it was clear Sporting believed the impossible was possible. Trincao, tormenting the Bodo/Glimt defence throughout, saw a close-range header slip just over the bar inside three minutes. The warning signs were there.

The breakthrough arrived in the 34th minute through the most unlikely of sources. Trincao swung over a corner and centre-back Goncalo Inacio rose highest to power a header into the bottom left corner. The stadium erupted. The deficit was now 3-1 on aggregate, and belief coursed through every Sporting player.

Pedro Goncalves came close to a second before half-time, his ferocious strike from the edge of the box superbly saved by Nikita Haikin, but the message was clear: Sporting were coming.

The pressure never relented after the interval. Trincao continued to orchestrate, Luis Suarez led the line with relentless energy, and Geny Catamo terrorised the Norwegian defence down the flank.

The second goal arrived in the 61st minute, and it was a thing of beauty. Suarez, with his back to goal, laid the ball perfectly into the path of Goncalves, who had the simplest task of tapping into an empty net.

Bodo/Glimt, so dominant in the first leg, suddenly looked ragged. The introduction of Nuno Santos added fresh impetus, and Sporting continued to pour forward. Then came the decisive moment.

In the 75th minute, Fredrik Bjorkan clearly handled inside the box. The referee initially played on, but VAR intervened. After a lengthy review, the official pointed to the spot. Up stepped Luis Suarez, who sent Haikin the wrong way and buried the penalty into the left corner. Seventy-eighth minute, 3-0 on the night. Aggregate: 3-3. Pandemonium.

With momentum entirely on their side, Sporting refused to settle for penalties. Just two minutes into the first period of extra time, Maximiliano Araujo pounced on a precise cut-back from Trincao to slam the ball inside the left post.

Bodo/Glimt were broken. Their resistance, so resolute in Norway, had crumbled completely. The Norwegian champions, competing in their first Champions League knockout tie, had no answer to the wave of green and white shirts.

Deep into the second period of extra time, with Bodo/Glimt pushing forward in desperation, Sporting delivered the final blow.

Daniel Braganca played a simple square pass into the feet of substitute Rafael Nel inside the box, and the forward composed himself before lashing the ball into the roof of the net.