In The Zone: Bodø/Glimt's lightning attacks
Thursday, February 19, 2026
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UEFA Technical Observer Ioan Lupescu analyses the Norwegian side's swift transitions during their victory over Inter.
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What’s in a name? In the case of Bodø/Glimt on Wednesday night, rather a lot.
Glimt is the Norwegian word for flash, which seems highly fitting given the swift, direct and incisive counterattacking play that cut open Inter's defence in the first leg of their knockout phase play-off tie.
As the following analysis, brought to you by FedEx, will show, the second and third Bodø/Glimt goals in their 3-1 victory were the product of superb transitions that showed Kjetil Knutsen's side at their best.
According to UEFA Technical Observer Ioan Lupescu, there was much to admire about their attacking combinations in particular.
"They have very good combinations," he said. "A lot of the players combine together and when they recover the ball they play very fast – a few passes – and then score. All the midfielders are very good with the ball."
The video analysis above shows their second and third goals which came in a three-minute spell which transformed the contest, as 1-1 became 3-1. As Cristian Chivu, Inter's coach, said: "In three minutes, two identical goals with two transitions."
Chivu elaborated: "They put us in a lot of trouble especially with the transitions, especially with when we were losing the ball how fast they were doing the transitions with a lot of players, with a lot of quality."
The move for Jens Petter Hauge's goal after 61 minutes began with Bodø/Glimt pressing – and look at the role played by Sondre Brunstad Fet, whose touch to intercept is at the same time a forward pass. Most eye-catching of all is the strike by Hauge, a right-footed forward finishing emphatically with his left. "We love to have the ball at our feet – we love to shoot and pass with both feet," he told CBS Sports afterwards.
The second clip displays Player of the Match Kasper Høgh's goal for 3-1 three minutes later – and this time the source is the home side's counterpressing. Lupescu observed: "They're defensively very disciplined and then play very fast when they get the ball on the counterattack. You can see they try to get five or six players up into the box, running as fast as they can, which gives them more options to score."
Bodø/Glimt have done this before. As highlighted in our analysis of goalscoring in the league phase, all three goals in their win over Manchester City came from counterattacks. It is one thing knowing what is coming; stopping it, as Inter found out, is another matter altogether.
A composed and intelligent midfielder, Ioan Lupescu enjoyed a successful career in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen and was a key figure in Romania's revered 1990s generation. After retiring, he transitioned into football administration, serving with UEFA for many years.
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