Manchester City suffered an unexpected defeat in the Champions League on Tuesday evening. Pep Guardiola’s side were caught off guard away to Bodø/Glimt, losing 3-1. The visitors finished the match with ten men after Rodri was booked twice in the space of a minute. As a result, The Citizens lost for the second time in this Champions League season.
Manchester City arrived in Norway expecting a demanding Champions League away night, but few could have predicted just how quickly the match would slip out of their control.
Pep Guardiola stuck largely to his trusted core, naming a line-up packed with established starters. Tijjani Reijnders was given a prominent role from the first whistle, while Phil Foden, Erling Haaland and Rodri were all included as City looked to impose their usual rhythm. In goal, Gianluigi Donnarumma started, with Nathan Aké left among the substitutes, a decision that would be debated afterwards as Bodø/Glimt repeatedly found space in dangerous areas.
From the opening minutes, the hosts showed they were not interested in simply surviving. Bodø pressed with confidence, moved the ball quickly in transition and made City uncomfortable with direct running and aggressive positioning. City tried to settle into a familiar pattern, circulating possession and looking for Haaland’s movement between the centre-backs, but the home side’s intensity and organisation consistently disrupted their build-up. Whenever City lost the ball, Bodø were immediately ready to attack the spaces left behind, turning defence into offence with impressive speed.
That approach paid off before the match even reached its halfway point. Just over twenty minutes in, a sharp Bodø counter-attack opened City up. Ole Didrik Blomberg broke forward and spotted Kasper Høgh arriving at the far post. The pass was perfectly weighted, and Høgh timed his run well to meet it, heading beyond Donnarumma to make it 1-0. The stadium lifted instantly, and City looked rattled by the sudden shift in momentum.
Before City could properly respond, Bodø struck again. Less than two minutes later, Blomberg was once more the creator, and again Høgh provided the finish. The move began with a costly mistake from Max Alleyne, who made a heavy error in possession and surrendered the ball cheaply. Bodø punished it ruthlessly, breaking two-on-one towards goal. Blomberg kept his composure, waited for the right moment and rolled the ball across to Høgh, who hit it first time into the net for 2-0. In a matter of minutes, City had gone from trying to control the match to chasing it.
The rest of the first half was tense rather than fluid. City had more of the ball, but Bodø were the sharper team in key moments. Guardiola’s side struggled to create clear chances, often forced into speculative efforts or crowded out in the final third. Haaland’s presence demanded attention, but Bodø defended their penalty area with discipline, cutting off supply lines and making it difficult for City’s midfield to play through. At the other end, every Bodø break looked dangerous, with City’s defensive line repeatedly tested by quick switches, early crosses and runners from deep.
At half-time, City needed a strong response, and they did start the second half with more urgency. The tempo increased, and there were signs they were trying to push Bodø back, but the home side remained calm and kept waiting for moments to strike. Those moments came again just before the hour mark. With City still searching for a way back, Bodø found space outside the box and Jens Hauge produced a moment of quality, unleashing a superb long-range effort that flew past Donnarumma for 3-0. It was the kind of goal that not only extends a lead but also hits an opponent psychologically, and it threatened to turn the match into a rout.
To City’s credit, they responded almost immediately. Two minutes after going three down, they pulled one back to give themselves at least a platform to fight from. Nico O’Reilly provided the assist, finding Rayan Cherki in a dangerous area. Cherki kept his composure and finished well, making it 3-1 and briefly shifting the mood. For a short spell, City looked capable of building momentum, with more bodies pushed forward and increased pressure around Bodø’s box.
But any realistic comeback hopes unravelled rapidly in chaotic circumstances. Rodri, normally one of City’s most reliable anchors, completely lost his discipline. In the space of a single minute he was shown two yellow cards, leaving the referee no choice but to send him off. The dismissal changed everything. Down to ten men, City’s structure weakened, the spaces between defence and midfield became larger, and Bodø sensed the opportunity to manage the game on their terms.
Soon after the red card, Bodø thought they had scored a fourth and effectively ended the contest, but the goal was ruled out for offside, with Høgh judged to have been beyond the last defender. Even before that disallowed moment, the home side had shown how close they were to adding more, striking the crossbar only seconds earlier. The pattern was clear: Bodø were consistently the more threatening team when the game opened up, and the sending-off only increased that advantage.
City attempted to respond with a late push despite being a man down, trying to force a chaotic finish by committing numbers forward. However, Bodø stayed disciplined, slowed the tempo at the right moments, and protected their lead with maturity. City were left relying on crosses, rushed final balls and hopeful shots, while Bodø continued to look dangerous on counters, always appearing closer to a fourth than City did to a second.
In the end, the 3-1 scoreline reflected a night where City were second best in key phases. The hosts took their chances clinically, punished mistakes without mercy and showed tactical bravery throughout. For Guardiola’s side, the defeat raised uncomfortable questions about concentration, defensive balance and discipline, especially in a competition where fine margins often decide campaigns. With this result, City suffered their second loss of the Champions League season, and the manner of it, surrendering control early and collapsing after the red card, will sting as much as the score itself.
Updated: 09:37, 20 Jan 2026
