Champions League’s Cinderella club Bodø/Glimt shines again by beating Sporting Lisbon 3-0

BODO, Norway (AP) — The Champions League’s Cinderella club Bodø/Glimt wrote another chapter Wednesday in its fairytale run through the competition.

The homely Norwegian club won 3-0 against Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of a round-of-16 clash at its tiny Aspmyra Stadium packed with 7,971 fans.

Sporting, the champion of Portugal that once nurtured future superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Luís Figo, became the latest favored opponent to travel far north and struggle inside the Arctic Circle this year.

Manchester City and Inter Milan were each beaten 3-1 on Bodø/Glimt's artificial turf field since coach Kjetil Knutsen’s team began the year looking sure to fall short of reaching the knockout rounds.

It is now a remarkable five straight wins for the lowest-seeded team left in the Champions League — all during the offseason in Norway. The country's domestic league does not start until this weekend.

Bodø/Glimt led in the 32nd minute when Sondre Brunstad Fet scored with a penalty kick, deceiving Sporting goalkeeper Rui Silva who dived right as the ball went low to his left.

Ole Blomberg added a second in first-half stoppage time, sliding in a low shot after the ball bounced through to him.

Center forward Kasper Høgh added a third in the 71st being strong in the goalmouth to connect with Jens Petter Hauge’s hard-driven low cross. It was Høgh's fifth goal in the five-win streak.

None of the goalscorers has even played for their national team. Fet at age 29 and the 25-year-old Blomberg are yet to be selected for Norway which is soon going to its first World Cup in a generation.

Nine of the 11 starters Wednesday are Norwegian and three — Hauge, captain Patrick Berg and Fredrik André Bjørkan — are playing for their hometown team that never won a Norwegian league title until 2020.

Høgh, also 25, has not been picked for Denmark, which is in a World Cup qualifying playoffs bracket this month.

The team from the Norwegian Sea fishing town would be the most unlikely Champions League quarterfinalist of recent years. APOEL from Cyprus reached the last eight in 2012 and was beaten by Real Madrid.

The winner after the return game in Lisbon next Tuesday will advance to play either Arsenal or Bayer Leverkusen who drew 1-1 Wednesday in the first leg in Germany.

The entire population of Bodø, just 55,000 people, could all fit inside Arsenal’s stadium.

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

Bodo/Glimt's Kasper Hogh, right, scores their side's third goal of the game during the Champions League soccer match between Bodo/Glimt and Sporting Lisbon, in Bodo, Norway, Wednesday March 11, 2026. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Bodo/Glimt's Ole Didrik Blomberg celebrates after scoring their side's second goal of the game during the Champions League soccer match between Bodo/Glimt and Sporting Lisbon, in Bodo, Norway, Wednesday March 11, 2026. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Sporting's Luis Suárez shoots the ball during the Champions League soccer match between Bodo/Glimt and Sporting Lisbon, in Bodo, Norway, Wednesday March 11, 2026. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Bodo/Glimt's coach Kjetil Knutsen gives instructions during the Champions League soccer match between Bodo/Glimt and Sporting Lisbon, in Bodo, Norway, Wednesday March 11, 2026. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Bodo/Glimt's Sondre Brunstad Fet scores their side's first goal of the game from the penalty spot during the Champions League soccer match between Bodo/Glimt and Sporting Lisbon, in Bodo, Norway, Wednesday March 11, 2026. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Bodo/Glimt's Ole Didrik Blomberg, right, scores their side's second goal of the game during the Champions League soccer match between Bodo/Glimt and Sporting Lisbon, in Bodo, Norway, Wednesday March 11, 2026. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Stocks drifted mostly lower on Wall Street and oil prices slipped Friday ahead of planned U.S.-Iran talks following a shaky ceasefire agreement.

The S&P 500 inched 0.1% lower after a day of choppy trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%.

The major indexes each notched a weekly gain for the second week in a row. They have been gaining ground this month amid optimism that the war with Iran could be heading toward a resolution. High-level talks between negotiators from Iran and the U.S. are planned for Saturday in Pakistan.

The benchmark S&P 500 has erased most of its losses from March and is just 2.3% short of its all-time high set in January. The market is still prone to big swings on developments around the war.

Oil prices have been behind many of the stock market’s sharp movements. They've risen sharply as shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz essentially stalled since the war began.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, has gone from roughly $70 per barrel before the war in late February to more than $119 at times. Brent for June delivery fell 0.8% to $95.20 per barrel Friday.

A barrel of U.S. crude oil for May delivery dropped 1.3% to $96.57.

The situation leading into the peace talks over the weekend remains uncertain. Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency claimed that talks wouldn’t happen unless Israel stopped its attacks in Lebanon.

The conflict is behind surging inflation in the U.S. in March. The government reported the biggest spike in inflation in four years as prices at the gas pump jumped. The inflation increase was just short of what economists expected.

Bond yields rose a bit following the latest inflation update. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.32% from 4.29% late Thursday.

Inflation has been a lingering concern for economists. Prices on a range of consumer goods and services are already stubbornly high, in part from the impact of extensive global tariffs. Higher gas prices are immediately felt by drivers at the pump, but they could eventually raise prices on everything from food to airfare as companies pass along higher costs for shipping and fuel.

Analysts are warning that there might be a drawn out impact from the oil supply shock in the months ahead.

“While I’m glad to see the effects to be less than expected in March, the effects in April are now more likely to be worse,” Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group, wrote in a research note.

Consumer sentiment slumped 10.7% percent in April, according to a closely watched monthly survey from the University of Michigan. It also shows that consumers are growing more worried about inflation, with year-ahead expectations surging to 4.8% in April from 3.8% in March.

Inflation remains a major concern for the Federal Reserve, which has signaled more caution amid worries about inflation reheating. The rate of inflation remains above the central bank's 2% target. The threat of rising inflation will likely mean the central bank continues to hold interest rates steady. Several Fed officials have also said a rate hike may be needed if inflation doesn’t cool.

Lower interest rates help boost stocks and other investments by lowering borrowing costs. Interest rate cuts also risk worsening inflation.

Most companies in the S&P 500 lost ground Friday, with health care and financial company stocks driving much of the decline. Eli Lilly and Co. fell 1.6% and Charles Schwab closed 2.5% lower.

Technology stocks with hefty values helped offset losses elsewhere. Nvidia rose 2.6% and Broadcom rose 4.7%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 7.77 points to 6,816.89. The Dow dropped 269.23 points to 47,916.57, and the Nasdaq gained 80.48 points to close at 22,902.89.

Markets in Asia gained ground while markets in Europe were mixed.

Bobby Charmak works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

John Mauro works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Philip Finale works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A screen showing Asia markets indexes at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders stretch near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)