Tiny Bodø/Glimt wins again in Champions League to set up potential playoff with Real Madrid

Tiny Bodø/Glimt is making a big splash in the Champions League and after back-to-back upsets over Manchester City and Atletico Madrid, it has set up a possible showdown with Real Madrid.

A 2-1 comeback win at Atletico on Wednesday saw the Norwegian club scrape into the playoffs. It means it will play either record 15-time European champion Madrid or last year’s losing finalist Inter Milan.

“The feeling is enormous, I am so incredibly proud,” Bodø/Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen said. “I’m not going to compare it to anything, but we do what we do. We should be extremely proud of that. Achievements stand on their own.”

And given its habit of pulling off stunning upsets in Europe’s elite club competition, Madrid and Inter are unlikely to relish a two-legged tie against the team that’s located north of the Arctic Circle — farther north than any in Champions League history.

It was the second time in as many weeks that Bodø/Glimt has pulled off a shock result, following the 3-1 win against Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s players were so apologetic to their fans that they refunded ticket costs for supporters who traveled to the match.

Despite that win, Bodø/Glimt needed to repeat it to secure a place in the top 24 of the standings in its first season in the Champions League.

And despite falling behind to Alexander Sørloth’s first-half goal, it rallied through Fredrik Sjøvold and Kasper Høgh to seal 23rd place.

Its reward is the potential of a clash with all-time king of Europe, Madrid, which dropped into the playoffs after losing 4-2 to former coach Jose Mourinho and Benfica.

Inter — a two-time finalist in the last three seasons — is also in the playoffs.

Should Bodø/Glimt pull off another unlikely win, it would face the possibility of a rematch with City or Sporting Lisbon in the round of 16.

It is turning into a spectacular debut in the competition for the Norwegians from the fishing town of Bodø, located more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) north of Oslo and with a population of around 55,000.

Brutal winter conditions and its artificial playing field at its 8,000-capacity Aspmyra stadium have helped it pull off shock wins against famous opponents like Roma, Lazio and Porto before the biggest upset of the lot against City last week.

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

CORRECTS ID: Glimt’s Fredrik Sjovold, right, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Bodo Glimt in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

CORRECTS ID: Glimt’s Fredrik Sjovold celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Bodo Glimt in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

CORRECTS ID: Glimt’s Fredrik Sjovold celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Bodo Glimt in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Bodo Glimt players celebrate at the end of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Bodo Glimt in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Glimt's Kasper Hogh, center, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Bodo Glimt in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

HOUSTON (AP) — Now more than halfway to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts were toasted by Canada on Saturday as they prepared for their historic lunar fly-around to push deeper into space than even the Apollo astronauts.

On the downside, their toilet was on the blink again.

The three Americans and one Canadian are set to reach their destination Monday, photographing the mysterious lunar far side as they zoom around. It's the first moon-bound crew in more than 53 years, picking up where NASA’s Apollo program left off.

“The Earth is quite small, and the moon is definitely getting bigger,” pilot Victor Glover reported.

Until the Orion capsule's bathroom is fixed, Mission Control has instructed the astronauts to break out more of the backup urine collection bags. The so-called lunar loo malfunctioned following Wednesday’s liftoff and has been hit-and-miss ever since.

Artemis II is poised to set a distance record for humans, traveling more than 252,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) from Earth before hanging a U-turn behind the moon and heading home without stopping or entering lunar orbit. The record is currently held by Apollo 13.

The Canadian Space Agency celebrated the country’s role in the mission, speaking from Quebec with astronaut Jeremy Hansen as he headed toward his lunar rendezvous. Hansen is the first non-U.S. citizen to fly to the moon.

“Today he is making history for Canada,” Canadian Space Agency President Lisa Campbell said. “As we watch him taking this bold step into the unknown, let his journey remind us that Canada’s future is written by those who dare to reach for more.”

In the live televised linkup, Hansen said he's already witnessed “extraordinary” views from NASA's Orion capsule.

Hansen, Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch are the world's first lunar astronauts since Apollo 17's crew of three in 1972. Koch and Glover are the first female and first Black astronauts to the moon, respectively.

Their nearly 10-day mission — ending with a Pacific splashdown on April 10 — is the first step in NASA's bold plans for a sustainable moon base. The space agency is aiming for a landing by two astronauts near the lunar south pole in 2028.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

This image provided by the Canadian Space Agency, Artemis II astronaut Jeremy Hansen of Canada, connects live from the Orion spacecraft and speaks with Canadian media along with astronauts Victor Glover, left, and Reid Wiseman on Saturday, April 4, 2026. (Canadian Space Agency via AP)

This image from video provided by NASA shows the Artemis II crew Commander Reid Wiseman, second from left, thanking the families of the crew while speaking with NASA Mission Control in a video conference while en route to the moon, Thursday, April 2, 2026, as Canadian astronaut and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, far left, looks on and mission specialist Christina Koch and pilot Victor Glover, far right, make hearts with their hands. (NASA via AP) CORRECTION: headed to the moon, not in moon's orbit

This image from video provided by NASA shows a view of earth taken by NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman from one of the Orion spacecraft's four windows after completing the translunar injection burn, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (NASA via AP)