FK Bodo/Glimt, a club from a small fishing town above the Arctic Circle in northern Norway, have written one of the most extraordinary chapters in Champions League history by knocking out Italian giants Inter Milan in the knockout playoff round.

The Norwegian champions completed a stunning 5-2 aggregate victory after winning the second leg 2-1 at the San Siro on Tuesday, February 24, silencing a stunned Milanese crowd that had expected their side to overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit.

In the first leg on February 18 in Bodo, midfielder Sondre Brunstad Fet opened the scoring in the 20th minute before Pio Esposito equalized for Inter ten minutes later. However, the home side struck twice more in the second half to take a commanding 3-1 lead into the return fixture in Milan.

Few gave Bodo/Glimt a realistic chance at the San Siro, where Inter had been virtually impregnable in European competition. But the Norwegians refused to buckle under the weight of expectation. Second-half goals from Jens Petter Hauge and Hakon Evjen sealed the deal, leaving Inter with just a consolation strike and a 5-2 aggregate defeat that will rank among the most painful in the Italian club's storied European history.

The scale of this achievement cannot be overstated. According to statistics firm Opta, Bodo/Glimt had just a 0.3 percent chance of advancing to the round of 16 a month ago, having collected only three points from their first six league phase matches. What followed was nothing short of miraculous. Back-to-back victories against Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in the final league phase matchdays propelled them into the playoff round, and from there they dispatched last year's beaten finalists with a level of tactical discipline and attacking quality that belied their underdog status.

This is Bodo/Glimt's first-ever season in the Champions League proper, and they have become the first Norwegian club in history to win a knockout tie in the competition. Their journey from the fringes of European football to the last 16 of its most prestigious tournament is a fairy tale that has captured the imagination of neutral fans worldwide.

The result also delivered a painful blow to Inter Milan and manager Simone Inzaghi, whose side had reached the Champions League final just two seasons ago and entered the playoffs as heavy favorites. Questions will now be asked about Inter's ability to perform under pressure in Europe, particularly after a display at the San Siro that lacked the intensity and urgency the occasion demanded.

Bodo/Glimt were not the only side to produce heroics in the playoff round. On Wednesday, February 25, Atalanta completed a remarkable comeback of their own, overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Borussia Dortmund with a dramatic 4-1 victory in Bergamo. Lazar Samardzic converted a penalty in the 98th minute, the last kick of the match, to seal a 4-3 aggregate triumph and send the Italian side through.

Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid saw off Club Brugge 7-4 on aggregate, Newcastle United dismantled Qarabag 9-3 over two legs, Bayer Leverkusen edged past Olympiacos, and Paris Saint-Germain scraped through against Monaco. Galatasaray's wild 5-2 first-leg victory over Juventus proved decisive despite a 3-2 loss in Turin in the return.

But the story of the round belongs to Bodo/Glimt. From the Arctic darkness of northern Norway to the bright lights of the Champions League round of 16, their journey is a powerful reminder that football's greatest competition can still produce moments of pure, unbridled magic.