Napolivs
Bodø/GlimtThere are comfortable wins and there are 4-3 wins. Napoli got the latter Tuesday night at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, surviving a late Bodø/Glimt push that turned what looked like a routine Champions League night into something far messier — and far more entertaining.
It started in about as clean a fashion as you can imagine. Matteo Politano, fed by Leonardo Spinazzola, put Napoli ahead inside the first minute. The Maradona barely had time to settle in before it was celebrating. But Bodø/Glimt, who came in with four wins in their last five, were not folding. Jens Petter Hauge leveled in the 27th, finishing off a move started by Sondre Brunstad Fet, and for a stretch the Norwegians looked every bit as dangerous as their hosts.
Napoli restored their lead just before the break. Scott McTominay — who had a night — converted with Kevin De Bruyne providing the assist, and the Italians went into halftime ahead 2-1 with some breathing room.
The Second Half Got Complicated
Frank Anguissa picked up a yellow card three minutes after the restart, and Napoli never quite found their footing in the early stages of the second period. In the 62nd minute, Andreas Helmersen made them pay, again assisted by the busy Brunstad Fet, to make it 2-2. Suddenly the Maradona was edgy.
McTominay answered. His 75th-minute header, set up by Politano, put Napoli back in front at 3-2 and looked to have settled matters. Noa Lang had been booked in the 58th, Giovanni Di Lorenzo would follow in the 86th, but by then Napoli seemed to have the three points locked up.
Then came the 88th minute. Odin Bjørtuft turned the ball into his own net to make it 4-2, and cabal, that should have been the match dead and buried.
It wasn't. Brunstad Fet — who had a hand in both Bodø/Glimt goals and spent the night making a nuisance of himself — headed one in at 90+4 to drag the final score to 4-3. A consolation, but an unsettling one.
What the Numbers Say
Napoli finished with 17 shots, eight on target, and made only three saves all night — which tells you Bodø/Glimt's three goals came from relatively little. Napoli held just 43.2% of the ball, which feels low for a home side, though their 90% pass accuracy suggests they were deliberate rather than sloppy when they did have it.
Our pre-match read made Napoli the favorite at 57%, and that is how it played out — the read was right, even if the margin of victory was slimmer than expected.
For Napoli, the win is welcome but the performance will leave questions. Conceding three at home in the Champions League — including an own goal and a stoppage-time header — is not the signature of a side playing with full confidence. McTominay was the standout, and De Bruyne's assist shows the kind of pisto Napoli spent to build this squad.
Bodø/Glimt, for their part, will leave Naples knowing they gave a proper European side a real fight. Brunstad Fet, in particular, looked like he belonged on this stage.
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