A superb free kick from Brazilian Leonardo gave South Korea's Jeonbuk Motors a 1-1 draw and the edge over Melbourne Victory after the first leg of their AFC Champions League Round of 16 match on Tuesday.

Leonardo powered home the equaliser over Victory's defensive wall and into the top left corner in the 13th minute after Besart Berisha had put the home side ahead in the fifth minute.

Berisha had a free header in the six-yard box when Jeonbuk goalkeeper Kwoun Sun-Tae was slow to come off his line.

But Victory's lead did not last long as the 2006 tournament winners hit back.

French defender Matthieu Delpierre was yellow-carded for fouling Han Kyo-Won just outside the penalty area. And Leonardo made Victory pay with his deadly free kick past the statuesque goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas.

Berisha had a great chance to give Melbourne the lead just after half-time but guided his glancing header wide of the open goal.

Jeonbuk are now in a good position to advance to the quarter-finals, with their home second leg of the tie in Jeonju next week.

It was an emotional night for veteran Melbourne Victory striker Archie Thompson, who was given a standing ovation by the home fans as he was substituted in his final home match after 261 appearances and 101 goals for the club.

"In the end I was disappointed we didn't win the game," Victory coach Kevin Muscat said.

"I thought we limited them to very little chances and we had a couple of gilt-edged chances.

"Having said that we are still in the tie, we have scored in every away tie this campaign and we look forward to next week."