At a rain-soaked MCH Arena, Tobias Bech put AGF ahead before the break, before Franculino saved the night for the home side with his 13th goal of the season.
Franculino also thought he had scored the winner in injury time, but the goal was disallowed for a narrow offside on teammate Kevin Mbabu.
Thus, AGF maintained their first place in the table as a reward for a determined effort, which was nine minutes from giving them a rare win in Herning.
AGF succeeded in keeping the Superliga's highest scoring team from creating chances to a large extent.
Tight marking clearly frustrated the home team, who picked up four yellow cards in the first 50 minutes.
The first half in particular was characterized by lots of stress and a multitude of tight duels on the wet pitch as both sides struggled to create chances.
As the half progressed, AGF took over more and more control. Links forced FCM goalkeeper Elias Olafsson into a good save before Tobias Bech opened the score after 35 minutes.
The striker won a race to the ball with two opponents, took a move to the left, and chopped the ball into the net with his hot left foot.
FCM coach Mike Tullberg was not happy with the state of affairs and changed two men at half-time, and his team got a better grip on the match.
Most of the action now took place in AGF's half of the pitch, but the home team still found it difficult to create clear-cut opportunities. It took a minor coincidence to force the equaliser.
After a flat cross from Paulinho, the ball bounced off two AGF defenders and landed at the feet of Franculino, who turned around and sent it into the net.
Towards the end, the visitors seemed content with the one point before Franculino's disallowed goal raised the pulse one last time in an entertaining and intense top-flight match.