Uzbekistan’s first AFC Cup entrant in nearly a decade, Nasaf breezed past FC Alay of Kyrgyz Republic in their opening clash with four goals in 22 second-half minutes, issuing a warning to clubs in Central Asia and beyond about their prospects in this year’s competition.

Khujand, on other hand, battled to a 2-2 draw against Turkmenistan champions Altyn Asyr FC in their clash, meaning a defeat on Monday will officially extinguish their knockout stage hopes.

While Group E hosts Dordoi are making their first appearance in this year’s competition, Ahal already have a 3-1 win over Tajikistan's FC Ravshan under their belt, with another victory to confirm the Turkmen side as group winners even before Thursday’s final Matchday.

The Turkmenistan side had two players sent off in Friday’s 2-2 draw against Khujand, relying on a first half brace from star striker Altymyrat Annadurdyyev to escape without defeat in their first competitive match of 2021.

Under the circumstances, Hojageldiyev was satisfied to emerge from that match with a point, but a similar result on Monday could see the Yokary Liga champions eliminated from the knockout stage contention before Thursday’s final group stage fixture against FC Nasaf.

Sam Kerr sealed team and individual honours for Chelsea, Mehdi Taremi continued his brilliant debut season for Porto, while even a Tottenham defeat couldn’t prevent Son Heung-min from starring in the Premier League.

There were also dazzling displays from players in Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Romania and Kazakhstan, but who was the week’s outstanding performer?

Study the contenders, based on performances from May 5 to 11, and cast your vote!

Playing in their first competitive match in nearly six months, the Turkmenistan title holders suffered a major setback when Berdimyrat Rejebov was shown a straight red card after 17 minutes but managed to avoid defeat thanks largely to a first-half brace from star striker Altymyrat Annadurdyyev.

Having reached half-time level at 2-2, Altyn Asyr had to survive the final few minutes of the clash with just nine men following Mekan Saparov’s second yellow card but managed to avoid defeat against the group hosts.

Absent from continental competition since 2014, and still a second division club in their home country until the end of last season, Ravshan struggled to get to grips with their opponents early, falling behind to a pair of Elman Tagayev goals within the opening 20 minutes.

Half-time substitutions and a Daler Shomurodov penalty got the Kulob club back into the contest after half-time, but Gurban Annayev’s 63rd-minute goal put the contest to bed, meaning Ravshan could be eliminated even before their second and final group stage match next Thursday.

Appearing in the tournament for the first time since winning it a decade ago, the Uzbek outfit were in command from the opening whistle but took until the 53rd minute to take the lead through substitute Sukhrob Nurulloev.

Nurulloev’s goal proved to be the turning point, with Shohmalik Komilov, Khusain Norchaev and Khusniddin Alikulov all subsequently getting on the scoresheet in a match where Nasaf had 33 shots at goal.