Manchester City suffered one of the most embarrassing defeats in their Champions League history on Tuesday, collapsing 3-1 against Norwegian outsiders Bodo/Glimt in a result that sent shockwaves across Europe.

Pep Guardiola’s expensively assembled side were dismantled inside 45 minutes as Kasper Hogh struck twice before Jens Petter Hauge added a second-half goal in front of delirious home supporters at the Aspmyra Stadion.

Rayan Cherki briefly offered City a lifeline moments after Hauge’s strike, but Rodri’s red card for two bookable offences completed a disastrous night as Bodo/Glimt celebrated a first-ever Champions League group-stage victory.

In a remote fishing town more than 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, the reigning European champions were left shivering, both literally and figuratively, in sub-zero temperatures.

The humiliation was sharpened by the scale of the mismatch: Bodo’s entire population of just 55,000 would barely fill Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium on a quiet matchday.

Yet Kjetil Knutsen’s fearless underdogs brushed aside the vast financial gulf between the clubs, outworking and outthinking City in a performance that exposed the fragility beneath Guardiola’s star-studded squad.

Bodo/Glimt’s rise has been anything but accidental. Despite being inactive since December following the end of the Norwegian season, they reached the Europa League semi-finals last term, underlining a decade of steady progress.

Their debut Champions League campaign had already earned respect with gritty draws against Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham, warnings City arrogantly ignored.

Guardiola’s men played without urgency, repeatedly suffocated by Bodo/Glimt’s relentless pressing and intensity.

Even City’s early arrival in Norway to adapt to the artificial pitch proved pointless, as their lack of cohesion laid bare the growing dysfunction in the squad.

This latest collapse compounds City’s domestic woes, with four winless Premier League games leaving them seven points adrift of leaders Arsenal after Saturday’s derby defeat at Manchester United.

Guardiola will be deeply troubled by another meek surrender, which contradicts his recent insistence that his players had rediscovered their hunger following last season’s trophyless campaign.

The City manager had hoped to enjoy the Northern Lights before kick-off, but that serene moment now stands as his only positive takeaway from one of the darkest nights of his glittering managerial career.

City now face Galatasaray at home on January 28 knowing that failure to secure automatic qualification for the last 16 would cap a disastrous European group phase.