Full time: FC Istiklol 1-0 Bengaluru FC (Dmitrii Barkov 27')
Istiklol dominated the majority of the game against Bengaluru FC, but a stellar performance by Gurpreet Sandhu between the sticks prevented the hosts from adding to Dmitrii Barkov's first-half strike, meaning there is all to play for in the return leg at the Kanteerava Stadium on October 18.
Roca's intriguing team selection
It actually should have been a giveaway when Albert Roca got Collin Abranches to accompany him to the pre-match press conference in Tajikistan on Tuesday, but it was still a surprise to see Abranches start ahead of Harmanjot Khabra on Wednesday night.
Roca, while not afraid to tinker with combinations when needed, likes to keep winning combinations going. Perhaps the ploy to replace Khabra with Abranches was both to have additional cover in Bengaluru's three-man defence, and also to serve as a back-up to Australian Erik Paartalu, who is not a natural defender and was stretched in that role by 4.25 of North Korea.
Early warning shots
What the BFC defence would be most annoyed with is that the goal they conceded was not too dissimilar from a couple of plays that had taken place in the lead-up to it.
First, Barkov had gotten his way across to one of the crosses from the left by the outstanding Fatkhullo Fathuloev early in the half, and seen his rasping header go straight to Gurpreet Sandhu in the BFC goal. Not long after, another diagonal ball from the left was just a bit too high for Istiklol's top scorer this season Manuchehr Dzhalilov.
While these two attacks indicated a weakness on the right, where Abranches was playing just a little ahead of Rahul Bheke, the goal came off a cross from the right. Once again, it was the lack of marking on the right side of defence that allowed Russian striker Barkov to get across and put Istiklol ahead.
BFC were lucky to come away with just one goal conceded thanks to a strong performance yet again under the bar from Sandhu.
Lack of strikers
When Roca lines up with three at the back, two wing-backs and effectively three attacking players, there's no room for a centre forward. Toni Dovale is more comfortable playing along the wings or in a more central attacking midfield role, and while both Sunil Chhetri and Udanta Singh have rapid pace, they are usually dependent on playing off a target man.
Against a well-organised and physical Istiklol side, it was always a challenge for the BFC attacking trio to push forward in unison, and that left them with an emphasis on containment for most of the match.
When Khabra eventually came on for Abranches, it afforded the visitors the width they had been seeking earlier in the game, and there were some brighter moments as the game closed out. Crosses were usually dealt with easily by the tall central defensive duo of Asrorov and Ukrainian Stetsenko, but BFC almost had their moment right at the end, when they had a shout for handball inside the box turned down.
All to play for in Bengaluru
For context, Bengaluru were playing only their third game since the 2017 ISL draft. Istiklol, meanwhile, had just wrapped up the Tajikistan league with 13 wins, no losses and 50 goals scored. They kept up their record of having scored in each AFC Cup match this year. They had some regular players missing, but made up by fielding an attack-minded lineup that rarely allowed BFC's midfield and defence room to breathe.
Nuriddin Davronov in central midfield was more than a handful for both Dimas Delgado and Lenny Rodrigues, and they broke away with pace and skill.
BFC were completely outplayed on Wednesday night, but there is no need to panic just yet. Last season's semi-final saw BFC outclassed for much of the first leg by Johor Darul Ta'zim, before Eugeneson Lyngdoh came up with a goal for the ages to get a 1-1 draw.
That inspiration did not arrive on Wednesday, but Roca would know that with the heart that his team normally shows at home, and perhaps a couple of tweaks to the starting line-up -- Khabra must start if fit, and Daniel Lalhlimpuia could also be an effective player in the eleven -- then BFC have it in them to take this clash right to the distance.