Champions League debutants Bodo/Glimt and Pafos claim unlikely away draws

Bodo/Glimt and Pafos each earned improbable draws away from home in their first Champions League matches on Wednesday.

Two of this year’s European Cup debutants were in action at the same time in Wednesday’s early games, playing perhaps two of their kinder fixtures, with Bodo visiting Slavia Prague as Pafos faced Olympiacos.

Bodo have greater European pedigree than Pafos, having reached last season’s Europa League semi-finals, but their introduction to the Champions League threatened to be a brutal one.

Slavia left-back Youssoupha Mbodji scored in either half to give the home side a 2-0 lead, his second goal coming with just 16 minutes to play.

But Bodo, who had earlier squandered a penalty as Kasper Hogh’s effort was saved, staged a remarkable recovery in the closing stages to draw 2-2.

Quick take: Match context: momentum and small details could decide this one, especially set-pieces and transitions. Form and fitness will matter; expect managers to rotate carefully around the congested schedule. Continental stakes raise the intensity, where away goals no longer apply but margins still feel razor thin. We’ll keep an eye on confirmed details as the story develops from official sources.

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Champions League debutants Bodo/Glimt and Pafos claim unlikely away draws