Alex Brosque’s 84th-minute goal looked to have given the home side their first victory of this year’s campaign but Elkeson struck even later to earn the visitors a point in what was a thrilling contest.

The draw ensured the China PR side stay two points above the Australians in the Group H standings.

There was a stunning start as Sydney scored after just three minutes. Siem De Jong brought the ball down on the edge of the SIPG penalty area and his low shot was deflected into the net.

With their hopes of advancing from Group F all but resting on the result of this game, the defending A-League champions made the worst possible start, conceding twice in the opening 10 minutes as Brazilian Anderson Talisca ran riot to put the two-time champions out of sight before Melbourne had even drawn breath.

Yang Liyu then made it 3-0 shortly before the interval to all but seal the victory before a Leigh Broxham own goal in the final 20 minutes rubbed salt into the wounds as Melbourne’s search for a first-ever away win in the competition goes on.

Chinese Super League champions Shanghai SIPG went behind three times to hosts Sydney FC, but each time Vitor Pereira's hauled themselves back level in an impressive display of resilience.

Siem de Jong's early opener was countered by Lu Wenjun's leveller before goals from Adam Le Fondre and Yu Hai ensured the tie went into half-time at 2-2.

Club captain Alex Brosque looked to have won the game for the hosts with six minutes remaining, but two-time AFC Champions League winner Elkeson fired home in the 89th minute to ensure the points were shared.

The visitors made the better start to the game and a driving run down the right from Maguinho ended with Oh Seung-hoon saving from his powerful shot in the eighth minute.

The Ulsan keeper soon had to save again when Tatsuya Hasegawa cut inside from the left and tested him with a low shot.

With both teams coming into the game on the back of losses on Matchday Two in Group F, Fabio Cannavaro and Kevin Muscat knew a win was needed to keep their respective hopes alive and it was the former Italian international defender who was smiling early.

The crossbar denied the home side from taking the lead in the fourth minute when Anderson Talisca’s exquisite free kick smashed back off the woodwork, but he made amends two minutes later when he headed home from Gao Lin’s cross to give his side the lead.

The visitors travelled to Hiroshima looking to keep their perfect record in this year’s AFC Champions League campaign intact.

They were on the back foot early, however, after Park Han-bin took down Yuki Nogami in the penalty area after just eight minutes, with the referee having no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

Brazilian striker Douglas Vieira was the man tasked with taking the resulting spot-kick and despite Cho Hyun-woo diving the right way, the Korea Republic international could do nothing to keep the ball out as the J.League leaders took an early lead.