Manchester City froze in the Arctic Circle as their Champions League campaign suffered a major setback with a shock 3–1 defeat to Bodo/Glimt. What was always going to be a difficult trip to northern Norway quickly turned into a nightmare, made even worse when Rodri was sent off in the second half.
The dismissal means the Spanish midfielder will miss City’s final League Phase fixture against Galatasaray next week — a game that is now shaping up to be a must-win for Pep Guardiola’s side if they are to avoid slipping out of the top eight and into a potential play-off tie for a place in the knockout rounds.
Bodo/Glimt wasted no time in seizing the moment. Centre-forward Kasper Hogh, who had been linked with a move to Norwich City earlier in the day, sent the home crowd into raptures with two quick-fire goals in the first half.
Jens Petter Hauge then capped off a dream night for the Norwegian champions with a sensational strike shortly after the break.
Rayan Cherki briefly gave Manchester City hope with a well-taken response, but Rodri’s red card extinguished any realistic chance of a comeback, leaving Guardiola’s men staring at a worrying scenario in Europe.
Still reeling from their emphatic Manchester derby defeat, Manchester City looked nervous from the opening minutes and were almost punished inside three minutes by a rapid Bodo counterattack that only broke down inside the penalty area.
Although Guardiola’s side gradually settled into their usual rhythm with short, intricate passing, familiar problems soon resurfaced.
Just as they had been at Old Trafford, City were exposed by a high defensive line and an inexperienced backline.
Max Alleyne failed to cut out a through ball, allowing Bodo to outnumber City on the break. Ole Didrik Blomberg delivered a dangerous cross which Hogh headed through the legs of Gianluigi Donnarumma to open the scoring.
Less than two minutes later, the hosts struck again. Once more, Alleyne struggled to deal with a bouncing ball, and Bodo surged forward with ease. Blomberg again turned provider, slipping Hogh through for his second of the night.
City had chances to respond before the interval, but Erling Haaland squandered two gilt-edged opportunities.
Those misses proved costly when Bodo returned after the break with renewed belief. Hauge produced a moment of real quality, collecting the ball near the byline, beating two defenders, and curling a stunning effort into the far top corner from outside the box.
Cherki pulled one back soon after to give City faint hope, but the momentum swung decisively back in Bodo’s favour when Rodri was shown red for two careless yellow cards in the space of two minutes. From there, the hosts held firm to secure their first-ever victory in the Champions League proper.
Mickyworld rates Manchester City’s players from Aspmyra Stadion
Goalkeeper & Defence
Gianluigi Donnarumma (6/10):
A difficult night after his heroics at Old Trafford. He will be disappointed to have let Hogh’s first header slip through his legs and could have done more to make himself big for the second. Redeemed himself somewhat with excellent saves in the second half and stoppage time.
Rayan Ait-Nouri (4/10):
Struggled badly in an unfamiliar right-back role. Failed to recover in time for the second goal and was caught ball-watching for the opener when he should have been tracking Hogh.
Abdukodir Khusanov (5/10):
Often left exposed and unable to cope with the waves of Bodo attacks, though he was far from the worst performer in a fragile defence.
Max Alleyne (3/10):
A torrid evening that exposed his lack of experience. Directly at fault for the first two goals and also missed a presentable chance with a free header from a corner.
Nico O’Reilly (5/10):
Both early goals came down his flank, though he was arguably City’s most composed defender. Showed real quality going forward, setting up Cherki’s goal with a neat piece of skill.
Midfield
Rico Lewis (5/10):
Moved into midfield after struggling at right-back against United, but the change did little to help City gain control. Failed to impose himself and couldn’t dictate the tempo.
