At the start of this season's Bangladesh Premier League, there were fears about a poor show from the footballers following the long coronavirus-induced break and the nominal payment to players.

The fear seems to have been justified as at the close of first leg the race for the prestigious title has become a one-horse affair, unlike previous editions.

Defending champions Bashundhara Kings are now eight points clear of second-placed Sheikh Jamal DC at the end of 12 matches. Last season, five teams were in close competition before the league was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but this time only one team has been in the title race, diminishing the excitement at the halfway stage of the league, which is likely to restart after a five-week gap.

Inconsistent performances of other title contenders has given a big advantage to Bashundhara Kings, who had a good pre-season preparation and their professional attitude has already paid dividends as they won the season's first trophy -- the Federation Cup -- and are now leading the 13-team table comfortably.

The first leg of the professional football league also saw the dominance of foreign players up front and they have been at the top of the scorers' list. Six-time champions Abahani, meanwhile, have fallen behind the pace miserably, but three-time champions Sheikh Jamal DC showed their character, thanks to four quality foreign players up front.

The country's lone UEFA A-licensed coach AKM Maruful Haque offered an explanation for such a one-sided race.

"I think Bashundhara Kings made a huge difference by developing themselves in a long pre-season preparation with the participation of the full squad, including foreign players, but other teams had less pre-season preparation with depleted squads," said Maruful.

"Besides, the players -- except those of Bashundhara -- could not take the load of the frequent matches due to less pre-season preparation, so most key players suffered injuries but Bashundhara players have no such injury problems."

Maruful believes there was no shortage of enthusiasm and effort from players but the long coronavirus break caused injuries during matches.

Mohammedan SC's British coach Sean Lane also echoed the sentiment but criticised the refereeing in the league.

"It was difficult to do a lot of real coaching because the games came so quickly," said Lane. "However, the officiating has been inconsistent which caused huge levels of frustration for everyone."

Maruful has also seen a positive change in that lower-table clubs have been playing attacking football instead of their usual defensive strategy, while Lane thought that the foreign players in general are of a better standard this season.

Although the league as usual experienced an empty Big Bowl in Dhaka, it saw a good number of spectator turn up in every match of Bashundhara Kings and Mohammedan SC in Cumilla, while Tongi's Ahsan Ullah Master Stadium also saw a substantial number of spectators support the home team -- Uttar Baridhara Club.

However, the fall of Abahani at the halfway stage was spectacular, due to lack of preparation as well as lack of quality players on the reserve bench.

"I did not think we would be nine points behind [leaders Bashundhara] at this point of the season," said Abahani coach Mario Lemos. "The reasons are we have conceded too many draws and conceded goals at the end of games. Our [quality in the] second halves haven't been at the same level as our first halves. I believe fitness has played a part… during this break we have to improve our fitness."

Finally, the professional league hit the headlines with the allegation of online betting and match-fixing by Arambagh KS and Brothers Union, which gave the authorities concerned food for thought and they now have to find the facts before delivering punitive measures.