Bodo/Glimt 6 - 1 AS Roma: Roma stunned after massacre in Bodø

An impressive 21-year-old Erik Botheim and his Norwegian teammates gagged the Italian visitors by inflicting one of their heaviest defeats in recent memory, propeling Bodø/Glimt to the top of Group C after three matchdays by literally massacring a toothless AS Roma outfit who taste their first defeat of the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) campaign.

In a bid to maintain their European momentum, José Mourinho’s Roma arrived at the Aspmyra Stadion with a point to prove after successive away defeats in Serie A. However, it was the Norwegian champions who drew first blood via Erik Botheim’s fantastic finish after an elegant passage of play in the final third. Still buzzing from the opener, Kjetil Knutsen’s outfit almost went two-up from Morten Agnes Konradsen’s close-range shot, only for Giallorossi shot-stopper Rui Patricio to pull a miraculous save. 

They didn’t have to wait for long though, as midfielder Patrick Berg stunned the visitors nearing the 20th-minute mark - an exquisite left-footed curler from outside the penalty area. Reeling in from the deficit, minutes later, Carles Perez got one back via a wonderful finish after being fed clinically by Amadou Diawara’s accurate defence-splitting ball. The eventful first half culminated with both sides dulling down as the HT whistle approached.

Just as they started the opening half, high on morale, ‘Glimt’ regained their two-goal lead through Erik Botheim’s brace in the 52nd minute via a composed tap-in, all thanks to relentless play by Alfons Sampsted on the touchline. 

The Special One’s decision to bring in Lorenzo Pellegrini and Tammy Abaraham made little difference as forward Ola Solbakken tripled the home side’s lead with a wonderful solo run and finish past a hapless Roma defence. Just when one thought it couldn’t get worse for the Italians, a quickfire double followed in the 78th and 80th minutes for the Norwegians, with goals arriving from the boots of Amahl Pellegrino and Ola Solbakken respectively.

Roma failed to continue their impressive goalscoring streak of ten second-half goals, out of a total of sixteen in Europe this season, including qualifiers. Consequently, the defeat happens to be one of Mourinho’s worst in his two-decade managerial history.

With their victory, Bodø/Glimt look to be the first Norwegian team to top a European group since Molde in 2015/16. They extend their unbeaten streak to 14 matches across all competitions in style and remain undefeated so far in UECL (W2, D1, L0).