Archie Thompson's final home appearance for Melbourne Victory after 11 years ended in a 1-1 draw against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Tuesday night in an AFC Champions League (ACL) Round of 16 first leg tie at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
It means that the Koreans have the upper hand ahead of the second leg in Jeonju on May 24.
Besart Berisha gave Victory the ideal start in the fifth minute before a brilliant free-kick from Leonardo in the 13th minute levelled the scores.
The 2015 A-League champions had many chances to win the game, but Berisha, in particular, failed to convert several good opportunities. The Albanian missed an open header early in the second half after good lead up play from Thompson and Oliver Bozanic.
But 37-year-old Thompson, starting on the left as part of front three alongside Berisha and Kosta Barbarouses, had a quiet game before being substituted to a standing ovation in the 68th minute.
The former Australia international was part of Melbourne Victory's inaugural season in 2005-06 and netted the club's first ever goal. In all, he scored 90 times in 224 appearances as he won three A-League championships. He also holds the world record for the most goals in a single international, with 13 in a 31-0 victory over American Samoa in 2001.
The opening goal of the game came from a Barbarouses corner, with Leigh Broxham hooking the ball back into the danger zone after Jeonbuk failed to properly clear before Berisha's header in the six-yard box.
The Koreans were dangerous on the break and caught the Victory defence napping in the 12th minute as Matthieu Delpierre fouled Han Kyo-won on the edge of the box, earning a yellow card. Leonardo's dead ball was perfect, curling over the wall past motionless Victory keeper Lawrence Thomas.
Jeonbuk won the 2006 AFC Champions League title and were runners-up in 2011.
In another Round of 16 tie, FC Tokyo hold a slight advantage over Sven-Goran Eriksson's Shanghai SIPG after a 2-1 victory in Japan.
A goal in each half by former Japan U23 winger Kota Mizunuma set underdogs FC Tokyo on the way to victory.
China international Wu Lei equalised for Shanghai SIPG early in the second half but FC Tokyo did well to keep the high flying Chinese Super League outfit under control at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo.
The visitors pushed for a second equaliser but found it difficult to create clear-cut chances as they were limited to two off-target Conca efforts from distance.
Shanghai captain Wang Shenchao then headed Cai Huikang's cross over in added time as Tokyo FC secured a precious victory.