On Wednesday, 14 October, at Aspmyra, Bodø/Glimt beat Borussia Dortmund 1-0 in the Champions League. Fredrik Sjøvold scored in the 52nd minute, Sondre Auklend’s cross. 7,885 in the ground. Goalkeeper Nikita Haikin kept the sheet clean. The Bundesliga noted saves from Nmecha, from distance, from Nwaneri, a header, and Nmecha again in stoppage time. It was his third Champions League game of the season, no goal conceded. His second after the injury against Bayern, when he missed two matches.

Kjetil Knutsen, the coach: he has so many big nights in a Glimt shirt that Knutsen has almost lost count. After Dortmund: it matters to have a matchwinner in goal, it is Nikita, it was him again. Haitam Aleesami: saves that win matches, in countless games. The X-factor: explosive, the reflex. Patrick Berg, the captain: he means an enormous amount, he is a very good keeper, he stands when the opponent presses at the end.

In the league the form is different. NRK: six straight Eliteserien games with a goal conceded, 15 in the last seven before Dortmund. Haikin still has the most clean sheets in this Eliteserien, as he did last season. Aleesami: crazy numbers, he should be proud. Viking and Glimt are level on points, goals scored, goals conceded. One more or fewer can decide the title. Viking want a second in a row. On Saturday the 17th Glimt were at HamKam, at Briskeby, 14:00. Knutsen rotated six. Haikin stayed in goal. The score is not in Friday morning’s praise piece. We are not inventing it.

He is 30, a Norwegian citizen before the World Cup. He cannot play for the national team until March 2028, because of the months at Bristol City in 2023. Knutsen, to TV 2: Ståle and his staff are watching, the dialogue is good; when the date comes, he will be a keeper to consider. Until then, he is Glimt’s.

The contract runs to summer 2027. He arrived in 2019. After Bristol he came back. He said, at the extension in March: he is home. Norway is home. Seven years of the road. Dortmund is one night. The league is a table. A shut-out in Europe does not erase the 15 league goals. It only sets them beside.

A keeper praised before a title round is not a title. It is a form, on Wednesday, at Aspmyra, and a tie with Viking. The rest is played.

Image: Røed, Aspmyra Stadion, June 2007, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons. The photograph shows the ground in Bodø, not the Dortmund match.

Sources consulted: Nikita Haikin hylles av Kjetil Knutsen og lagkameratene — NRK; Borussia Dortmund suffer UEFA Champions League defeat against Bodø/Glimt — Bundesliga.