Even taking into account their 2-2 draws against Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund, and narrow losses against Juventus (2-3) and Monaco (0-1), Pep Guardiola's swashbuckling side represented an altogether different proposition.
32nd played fourth in a David v Goliath battle
The Norwegian side began the game in 32nd position in the UCL league table, whilst City were sat in fourth, comfortably in the top eight teams who will qualify for the knockout stage of the premier European competition automatically.
Furthermore, the hosts were yet to win a game in the 2025/26 Champions League, and Erling Haaland, returning to his homeland, had helped his side to a 2-1 win away at Spanish giants Real Madrid in their last UCL game.
It's little wonder that Bodo were given next to no chance of springing one of the competition's biggest shocks of recent times, even though Guardiola had been forced into making at least four of six changes to the team that faced Los Blancos because of injuries.
Dropping Jeremy Doku to the bench and dropping Bernardo Silva from the squad entirely didn't appear to be the wisest choice ahead of the game, however, and that proved to be so by the end of 90 minutes.
Haaland a peripheral figure
Given that Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rodri, Abdukodir Khusanov, Max Alleyne, Rico Lewis and Tijjani Reijnders were the half dozen players to come into City's starting XI, it's clear that the Premier League outfit had more than enough quality within their ranks so as not to be troubled by their hosts.
Haaland's first shot at goal didn't arrive until the 10th minute, by which time his side were dominating their hosts in terms of chance creation and shots.
Oddly enough, City's No.9 was the first Norwegian to start a UCL game against a Norwegian club since John Carew in December 2005, and no Norwegian player had ever scored against another Norwegian club in the competition.
It was one of only two touches Haaland would have in the opening 20 minutes, with City having 74% of the ball during that time, and there was nothing at all to hint at the mad two minutes that followed.
Alleyne's nightmare two minutes
A ball into the centre-forward from Phil Foden wasn't collected, and Max Alleyne's missed tackle as Bodo broke upfield was crucial.
With the visitors struggling to get back in position, a cross to the back post from Ole Didrick Blomberg found Kasper Hogh, who made no mistake with his downward header.
117 seconds later, the same player was left unmarked after another error from Alleyne, and his first-time shot from Blomberg's second assist gave Gianluigi Donnarumma no chance.
For the first time in this season's competition, Blomberg had provided at least one assist, and Hogh had scored at least one goal, with Bodo previously relying on the goalscoring prowess of midfielder Jens Petter Hauge.
Hogh's slice of UCL history
Hogh's brace was the earliest that a player has scored two UCL goals against City since Son Heung-min (10 minutes) for Tottenham in the epic match back in 2019.
He also became the first player to score twice and have five or more touches in the opposition box in the first half of a UCL match against Manchester City since Luis Suarez back in 2015 for Barcelona.
No player had ever managed the feat against any side managed by Pep Guardiola in the competition either.
For just the third time since the start of 2024, City had conceded two first-half goals via a fast break from their opponents, too.
City unable to cope with Bodo's physical game
Alleyne's evening consisted of the youngster making just the one tackle throughout the 90 minutes, unsuccessfully.
Though Guardiola might've been thinking long and hard about when to give him another chance in a City starting XI, by the end of proceedings, the 20-year-old had completed 103 passes - the most by an English debutant in the competition on record (from 2003/04).
Though City would have at least three chances before half-time to draw level, due in no small part thanks to Hauge's six tackles - more than any other player - the visitors were finding it difficult to even get their shots on target.
Patrick Berg's physicality was also proving to be a problem for City, who had, perhaps, turned up at the Aspmyra Stadion in completely the wrong frame of mind.
Hauge sends Aspmyra Stadion fans into orbit
That allowed Bodo to apply 271 high pressures in the opening 45 minutes - the most by any team in the first half of a UCL game this season.
City had lost both of their last two Champions League games in which they trailed at half-time, but had avoided defeat in each of their previous seven (W4 D3), so there were plenty of reasons for optimism as the teams took to the field after the break.
With Rodri bossing the midfield thanks to his usual passing excellence, and Rayan Ait-Nouri also posting a sensational 96.1% completion stat, it appeared to be just a matter of time before City halved the deficit.
As the match approached the hour mark, however, Hauge took over. Drifting in off the left flank, he arrowed a spectacular curling effort into the top corner for the goal of the game and his fourth of the competition this season.
To give that goal some context, Bodo had become only the sixth side ever to take a three-goal lead in a UCL match against City, after Bayern Munich (Oct 2013), Barcelona (Oct 2016), Liverpool (Apr 2018), Sporting CP (Nov 2024), and Real Madrid (Feb 2025).
City weren't up for the fight
Within two minutes, Rayan Cherki offered the visitors some hope with a long-range effort, but even with his eight touches in the Bodo box (and seven more from Tijjani Reijnders), City were not offering enough as a collective.
Their disjointed efforts soon took another downturn as Rodri's two yellow cards in the space of 53 seconds saw him sent off.
Hauge's shot against the woodwork could've made the scoreline even more embarrassing for City, who, ultimately, need to look at their more general application on a night when their pretty passing carousels were utterly worthless.
When players such as Reijnders and Rodri are only winning two out of six and eight one-on-ones, respectively, it's clear where the game is being won and lost. Ditto when a supposed minnow is making at least 10 more tackles collectively.
There's a time and a place for playing teams off the park, and the best players know when it's time to roll up their sleeves and fight.
City appeared to have misread the brief.
