Bodø/Glimt saw off Union Saint-Gilloise 3:2 in extra time in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League on Monday. The hosts needed 120 minutes to find their way through, and when they did, it was Ole Diderik Blomberg's opener from fifty-one minutes that set the tone. Union SG came back twice, but could not hold on after Kevin Van De Perre was sent off in the dying seconds of normal time.
Blomberg broke the deadlock at the hour mark, and Guilherme Smith equalised straight away sixty-one minutes in. Bodø/Glimt regained the lead through Jens Petter Hauge seventy-six minutes out, only for Massir Fuseini to restore parity eighty-eight minutes later. Van De Perre's second booking on ninety minutes-plus-seven was followed by a straight red, and Union SG were down to ten men.
Extra time brought little relief for the visitors. Union SG pressed but ran out of legs, and by then Bodø/Glimt had switched to a back three to absorb the pressure. At one hundred and seventeen minutes, Alexander Helmersen struck to put the hosts ahead, and despite a late push, the visitors could not find an equaliser. The final whistle confirmed a dramatic victory for the Norwegian side.
Statistics tell the story of who controlled the game. Bodø/Glimt held seventy per cent possession and launched one hundred and eighty-three attacks compared with ninety-eight for the visitors. They registered nine shots on target against five, while their expected goals figure of three point seven one dwarfed Union SG's two point six one. The visitors created six big chances to the hosts' five, but conversion was never going to be easy with one man fewer for most of extra time.
The result moves Bodø/Glimt into the next round of the Champions League qualifiers. Union SG's campaign comes to an end after a hard-fought display that included a red card and two late goals conceded. The hosts will now await the draw, while the Belgians return to the Europa League pathway.