‘Battered in Bodo’ – is this more than just a blip for Man City?

Pep Guardiola, can you hear me? Your boys took a hell of a beating.

As victories for Norwegian football teams against English sides go, Bodo/Glimt’s triumph over Manchester City is near the top of the list.

On a numbingly cold Tuesday evening in the Arctic Circle, Premier League giants City were “battered in Bodo” , suffering a humbling 3-1 Champions League defeat.

“They’ve caused themselves a bit of a problem by not winning the game because they don’t want to go into the play-offs,” former Premier League striker Chris Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Now if they don’t beat Galatasaray, that may happen. That’s not where they want to be, especially with the squad as depleted as it has been.

“It’s important they find a win and start building that confidence. It’s an embarrassing night for them.”

An embarrassing night in the Champions League follows a poor run in the Premier League, with City winless in the top flight in 2026.

Is it just a blip for Guardiola’s side or something more concerning?

Radio commentator Bjorge Lillelien’s immortal rant went down in folklore in 1981 when Norway stunned England 2-1 in World Cup qualifying.

Lillelien said that Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill and then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had seen their boys take “a hell of a beating”.

City’s showing in Bodo can be counted as a similar humiliation.

The city has a population of around 55,000, similar to south Croydon or Sale, with just under 8,000 of those locals packing the Aspmyra Stadion.

Just 10 years ago, Bodo/Glimt were competing in the second tier of Norwegian football. Since then, they have soared – becoming top-flight champions four times in the past six years and runners-up on the other two occasions.

They came through qualifying this season to reach the main stage of the Champions League for the first time, claiming their first victory in style against City, who had lifted the trophy just three years ago.

It is a remarkable story that a club who posted revenues of £52m in their 2024 accounts have defeated the mighty Manchester City, who reported a hefty £694m in their accounts last year.

Glimt’s league season ended in November, agonisingly losing the title by a point to Viking, so they were well rested before facing City having not played in six weeks since a draw against Borussia Dortmund.

“What a performance from Bodo/Glimt,” said Sutton. “We wondered whether they’d come into the game, with the break, whether they’d be undercooked. It was Manchester City who froze on the evening.

“Bodo/Glimt had a game plan. They were happy to give up possession, but when they broke, they broke with pace and velocity. It should’ve been more than three.

“People will look at this as a farmers league beating a Premier League team, but they’ve thoroughly deserved it.

“Bodo/Glimt haven’t just beaten Man City, they have pummelled them. City got battered in Bodo. It has not been a fluke.”

A succession of injuries damaged City’s challenge on all fronts last season and there is a similar feeling this time round.

Guardiola had to make the trip to Norway without eight injured players, as well as new signing Antoine Semenyo, who is ineligible to play in the group phase of the Champions League, and suspended captain Bernardo Silva.

It meant Guardiola had to field City’s youngest-ever Champions League starting XI, with four players aged 21 or under playing in the game.

Centre-back Max Alleyne, recalled from Championship side Watford to aid the injury crisis, stepped up to the biggest stage but struggled on his Champions League debut and was culpable for the first two goals.

Having ended 2025 with eight straight victories, City have made a miserable start to 2026, winning only two of their seven games and suffering back-to-back losses, having endured a dismal defeat by Manchester United on Saturday.

“We have to come back,” said Guardiola. “The results since [the end of] 2025 have not been good in terms of the Premier League and today.

“Now we have to move forward with Wolves and Galatasaray. Today was an incredible opportunity for us but the feeling is [everything is] going wrong.

“You have to try to change it and the players that are there will try it.”

A major worry will also be the form of star striker Erling Haaland, who had a trip to forget to his homeland. He has now gone a month without scoring from open play with only one penalty to show from his past eight games.

On Saturday, Guardiola called on Fifa and Uefa to give players a minimum of 72 hours rest between games but the Spaniard decided to field Haaland for the full 90 minutes against Bodo/Glimt, giving Egypt’s Omar Marmoush – just back from the Africa Cup of Nations – only 20 minutes to feature.

Midfielder Rodri will now miss next week’s crucial game against Galatasaray. His sending off, after receiving two yellow cards in the space of 53 seconds, cost his side the chance of turning the game around.

“We lost and since the new year, [there are] many things against [us],” added Guardiola. “But I know how good a team they are. We didn’t underestimate them. They were in the semi-finals of the Europa League last season, they were fresh in mind and we arrived in some departments without important players.

“They were a little bit fragile like some periods last season. We have to change the dynamic quickly.”