An equaliser by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in the 57th minute gave Amsterdam football club Ajax a 2-2 away draw in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier against Greek side PAOK on Tuesday night.

Hakim Ziyech opened the scoring for the Amsterdammers 10 minutes into the game only to see last season’s Greek champions pull back two within six minutes.

The return leg takes place in Amsterdam next Tuesday.

‘It is a good result,’ Huntelaar said after the match. ‘If you can score twice away, then you can fininsh them off at home.’

Ajax were surprise semi-final qualifiers in the competition last season and have lost three key players – Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Lasse Schöne – since then. Real Madrid is still in the process of agreeing a deal for Donny van de Beek.

The club has reinvested some of the millions received for De Jong and De Ligt in the team, with Dutch international winger Quincy Promes arriving from Sevilla. Argentinian Lisandro Martinez and Mexican Edson Alvarez, both 21, have been brought in to bolster the defence.