Urawa Reds bagged two important away goals as the J League champions earned a 2-2 draw away to South Korea's Seongnam Ilhwa in their Asian Champions League semifinal first leg on Wednesday.
The Reds went behind on Mota's 11th-minute opener but diminutive striker Tatsuya Tanaka equalized with his third consecutive goal in the ACL before Robson Ponte looked to have put Urawa firmly in the driving seat ahead of the return leg with a 66th-minute penalty.
However, Seongnam upped the pressure in the last quarter of an hour at a rain-lashed Seongnam Tancheon Sports Complex and were rewarded when Kim Do Heon snatched a late equalizer.
Brazilian striker Mota put the home side in front after 11 minutes, racing on to a diagonal Itamar pass to clip over Urawa goalkeeper Ryota Tsuzuki, but the Reds went on to dominate the rest of the first half.