Bodø/Glimt 2-0 Lazio: Saltnes strikes twice for Norwegian outsiders

Norwegian champions Bodø/Glimt will take a two-goal cushion to Rome for the second leg after Ulrik Saltnes struck twice against Lazio in their UEFA Europa League quarter-final opener.

Match in brief: Pressure pays off for classy hosts

All smiles for first-leg victors Bodø/GlimtUEFA via Getty Images

Aggressive from the off, Kjetil Knutsen's side would have been disappointed when they came in at the break at 0-0. Jens Petter Hauge drew an early save from Christos Mandas, while Ole Didrik Blomberg miscued from a great position, and Lazio offered little in response.

However, any negative thoughts were dispelled within two minutes of the restart as another crisp passing sequence ended with Blomberg playing Saltnes in, and the midfielder held off his marker to beat Mandas. And the best was yet to come as the same player lifted the ball deftly over the goalkeeper to double his side's lead in the 69th minute.

Mandas, though, was the nearest Lazio came to having a hero on the night, the goalkeeper spreading himself to stop Saltnes completing his hat-trick late on, before keeping out Odin Bjørtuft's effort deep into added time.

Christos Mandas' saves may have kept Lazio in the tieNTB/AFP via Getty Images

Philip O'Connor, reporting from Aspmyra

The Cinderella story of Bodø/Glimt's Europa League campaign continues! At home against the league phase winners, the Norwegian champions thoroughly deserved their 2-0 win, midfielder Ulrik Saltnes almost completing a hat-trick. The return leg in Rome is still to come, but the Norwegian champions have given themselves a great chance of reaching their first-ever European semi-final.

Reaction

Ulrik Saltnes, Bodø/Glimt goalscorer, to UEFA: "We were a bit shaky to start with but we decided at the break to put our feet on the gas and go for it, and it was a really, really good performance. I think absolutely everyone who was here tonight will remember this night for the rest of their lives. The goals were good. The first one, I cut in and put it in. The second was a good chip. I had two misses as well, and that's probably what I'm going to remember most, not the goals!"

Kjetil Knutsen, Bodø/Glimt coach: "I don't think we will go crazy celebrating. We have a clear identity and an insane amount of power in us. We should be happy with that. We have given an incredibly good performance."

Patrick Berg, Bodø/Glimt captain: "We have put ourselves in an extremely good position, and we know that many of the chances from today's match will come again next Thursday. But, of course, under different circumstances: natural grass and away from home. It will be a tougher task than playing here at Aspmyra."

Jens Petter Hauge, Bodø/Glimt forward: "It's a bit of a disappointment that we didn't score more than two, but that says something about how far we have come."

Marco Baroni, Lazio coach: "I am certain that qualification is open and that the return match will be a different game. I am convinced of this and so are the lads. [Bodø/Glimt] are a fresh, brilliant team, but I am sure that things will balance themselves out at the Olimpico and we have a great chance of getting through. We will show absolute conviction."

Ulrik Saltnes at full timeNTB/AFP via Getty Images

Key stats

• This is Bodø/Glimt's second UEFA competition quarter-final; their previous was a 5-2 aggregate defeat against Lazio's neighbours Roma (2-1 h, 0-4 a) in the 2021/22 UEFA Conference League.
• Knutsen's men are the first Norwegian team to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup or Europa League, and they are hoping to become the first Norwegian team to reach a UEFA men's club semi-final.
• Bodø/Glimt have now won their last four UEFA competition home matches against Italian teams, and nine of their ten UEFA competition home matches this season (L1).
• Lazio won their only previous UEFA competition matches against a Norwegian team, beating Rosenborg twice (3-1 h, 2-0 a) in the 2015/16 Europa League group stage.
• This was only Lazio's second defeat in 11 Europa League matches this season (W7 D2).

Line-ups

Bodø/Glimt: Halkin; Sjøvold, Gundersen, Bjørtuft, Bjørkan; Evjen, Berg, Saltnes (Brunstad Fet 86); Blomberg (Määttä 86), Høgh (Helmersen 81), Hauge

Lazio: Mandas; Marušić, Mario Gila, Romagnoli, Hysaj (Lazzari 46); Guendouzi, Vecino; Isaksen (Tchaouna 81), Pedro Rodríguez (Castellanos 64), Zaccagni (Noslin 81); Dia (Dele-Bashiru 46)

Bodø/Glimt line up ahead of the Lazio gameUEFA via Getty Images