New Delhi, Feb 25 (IANS) Bodo/Glimt held off a concerted comeback effort from Inter Milan to earn a place in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 for the first time with 5-2 aggregate win.

Former AC Milan attacker Jens Petter Hauge was again on target as the Norwegian outfit booked their last-16 spot with another eye-catching result against the three-time European champions.

The visitors had to soak up incessant Nerazzurri pressure for much of the opening hour, but there was no looking back after a close-range finish from Hauge and Håkon Evjen’s classy strike gave them a four-goal cushion.

The hosts upped their intensity late on. Manuel Akanji swept Federico Dimarco’s cutback onto the upright and then Alessandro Bastoni prodded in to cut the deficit, but there was no denying Kjetil Knutsen’s side a famous victory.

Meanwhile, Newcastle United also reached the last 16 with a 3-2 win over Qarabag. They will face either Chelsea or Barcelona after coming through one of the highest-scoring ties in Champions League history.

Already holding a 6-1 first-leg lead, the Magpies quickly stretched their advantage courtesy of goals from Sandro Tonali and Joelinton inside the opening six minutes.

The second half brought more early action as Camilo Duran and Sven Botman exchanged goals 100 seconds apart, before Elvin Jafarguliyev turned in the rebound after Aaron Ramsdale saved Marko Janković’s penalty. Both sides kept pushing, but there was no advance on 12 goals across the tie.

It’s a massive achievement from us to get to the last 16. Nothing was given to us at the start of this Champions League run. We’ve really enjoyed it, and then coming to the pressure game, the double-header, I think we’ve navigated that really well.

“I don’t care who you play at this stage, it’s a tough draw, and we did the majority of the work in the away game. We’ve come through really well,” said Eddie Howe after this 9-3 aggregate victory.

–IANS

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