Bodø/Glimt beat Viking 3-2 at Aspmyra on Friday, a result that leaves the two title rivals level on both points and goal difference with five rounds of the Norwegian season remaining, according to NRK.
The defending champions Viking could have taken a decisive step toward retaining the title with a win in Bodø. Instead, Glimt kept the race alive and the pair now go into the closing stretch inseparable at the top.
Why it matters
A Viking victory would have given the Stavanger club meaningful breathing room in the hunt for the league crown. The defeat means the title is likely to be decided in the final rounds, a prospect TV 2 expert Simen Stamsø Møller described as leaving the season almost certain to stay tense until the last kick, as reported by NRK.
The match also produced a series of contentious moments that are likely to dominate discussion in Norwegian football in the days ahead.
Glimt's fast start and Viking's reply
The home side came out at full speed and were two goals up inside a quarter of an hour. Henrik Falchener put through his own net for the opener, and Andreas Helmersen then combined with the crossbar before doubling the lead.
Viking responded and drew level at 2-2 through Kristoffer Haugen and Erik Botheim. Jens Petter Hauge restored Glimt's advantage before the interval, making it 3-2 in a first half that VG described as a five-goal thriller.
The opening period ended with red cards for Kjetil Knutsen and Morten Jensen, adding to the tension around the break.
Penalty overturned after VAR review
Shortly after the restart, referee Espen Eskås pointed to the spot following a challenge between Zlatko Tripic and Glimt goalkeeper Nikita Haikin. TV 2 expert Simen Stamsø Møller said on air that Tripic had engineered the situation and that Haikin was pulling away, according to NRK.
Eskås was then sent to the pitchside monitor by VAR and, after reviewing the incident, kept his original decision: no penalty.
Tripic was booed by the Aspmyra crowd whenever he came near the ball across the roughly 90 minutes, NRK reported.
Hauge and Berg criticise Tripic
The Viking captain was also at the centre of a second flashpoint when his arm made contact with Glimt's Ole Didrik Blomberg. Tripic was shown a yellow card, a sanction TV 2's expert commentator Stamsø Møller called right on the borderline for a red.
Jens Petter Hauge told TV 2 that everyone could see it was a clear elbow on Blomberg, adding that the offender knew exactly what he was doing and did it deliberately. Patrick Berg told the same broadcaster that he did not think the incident was accidental and that referees are deceived every year, saying he was not surprised.
Tripic rejected that reading. He told TV 2 that he took a hand to the face but that it was entirely unintentional, that he was off balance and that he did not believe the contact merited a yellow card either. He also said he found it troubling that his conduct should become a headline and called for mutual respect between players.
Late pressure holds no reward
Seven minutes of added time were played, and Viking pushed players forward in search of an equaliser, but they could not create enough to level the score. Glimt held firm under the late pressure.
Tripic told TV 2 that the match had been enormous fun to play, with strong emotions in both the stands and the dugouts.
Both sides made changes during the game. Joe Bell struggled in Bodø and was replaced by Tobias Moi, while Viking also withdrew Kristoffer Askildsen and Henrik Heggheim, both of whom were carrying yellow cards. Sondre Auklend, who was unwell, could not start for Glimt but came on after 70 minutes. Ola Brynhildsen later replaced the slightly injured Helmersen, and Hauge also had to leave the pitch.
With the table now dead level at the top, attention turns to the remaining five rounds, where any dropped point could decide the title.
