Slavia Prague came agonisingly close to marking their long-awaited UEFA Champions League return with victory after six years away, but debutants Bodo/Glimt stunned the Fortuna Arena by rallying from 2-0 down to snatch a dramatic 2-2 draw.
The evening began nervously for Slavia’s El Hadji Youssoupha Mbodji, who nearly turned villain on his club debut.
A routine clearance from Jostein Gundersen’s hopeful punt was fluffed by the Senegalese defender, allowing Håkon Evjen a clear sight of goal, only for Jindřich Staněk to rescue his teammate with a smart block.
That shaky moment aside, Slavia soon found their rhythm. Michal Sadílek almost opened the scoring with a thunderous long-range strike that whistled just over the bar, leaving Nikita Khaikin rooted.
The breakthrough arrived in the 23rd minute, however, when Lukáš Provod slid a low cross through the six-yard box for Mbodji to smash in at the far post.
The Czech side felt they should have doubled their lead before the interval. Štěpán Chaloupek’s header seemed to strike the arm of Haitam Aleesami inside the box, yet despite a VAR review, referee Marian Barbu waved away the penalty appeals to the frustration of the home support.
Bodo/Glimt boss Kjetil Knutsen responded at half-time by introducing Daniel Bassi, and the substitute quickly changed the game.
Brought down by Mbodji inside the area, he won a penalty, only for Kasper Høgh to be denied from the spot by Staněk’s sharp save.
Slavia pushed on and threatened again, with Khaikin pulling off a superb double stop to keep out efforts from Provod and Vasil Kusej. Their persistence paid off just past the hour when Provod once more found Mbodji at the back post, the defender volleying home his second to put the hosts 2-0 up.
But Bassi gave the Norwegians hope almost instantly, cutting the deficit with a well-taken strike. The final twist came moments before stoppage time, when Sondre Brunstad Fet unleashed a thunderous volley that cannoned in off the underside of the bar to complete an unlikely comeback.
It was a thrilling introduction to Europe’s top competition for Bodo/Glimt, while Slavia were left ruing a missed opportunity to cap their UCL return with three points.
