Melbourne Victory's bid to make club history fell apart as they conceded three goals in a frantic final 25 minutes against Ulsan Hyundai.
The Socceroo midfielder's exit from Brighton and Hove Albion caught many by surprise,but it appears to be paying off for him in more ways than one.
One of their nicknames is the"Gangsters of Asia",but Melbourne Victory will aim to arrest the firepower of Ulsan Hyundai,their Asian Champions League round of 16 opponents.
The Sky Blues will leave Qatar over the weekend having been knocked out of the competition,but Ange Postecoglou's Japanese side have bigger fish to fry.
Melbourne Victory have advanced to the knockout rounds of the competition for just the second time in their history,after beating FC Seoul 2-1.
The A-League champions finally have their first AFC Champions League victory under Steve Corica after a dominant display in Qatar on Wednesday morning.
Victory are hoping to spoil their own festive season by beating FC Seoul in their final group game and advance to the knockout stages of the Asian Champions League.
Melbourne Victory have received an Asian Champions League lifeline thanks to a Thai club,while Western United make a''massive coup''in signing a Spanish midfielder.
Wednesday night's 1-0 defeat to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors ended Sydney FC's AFC Champions League hopes and continued a trend that must be driving coach Steve Corica absolutely insane.
Melbourne Victory remain a chance of qualifying for the knock-out stages of the Asian Champions League,but will need to show improvement after losing 3-1 to Beijing Guoan.
Sydney FC should have been 3-0 up after the first 15 minutes,but a late comeback from Shanghai SIPG has all but dashed their AFC Champions League hopes.