THESSALONIKI, Greece, Aug. 6 -- Greece's PAOK tied Dutch giants Ajax 2-2 in their first leg of the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League here on Tuesday night.
Ajax opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a free kick by Hakim Ziyech. But PAOK rallied to lead 2-1 by the end of the first half with Chuba Akpom's 31st minute goal and Leo Matos' 39th minute goal.
Dimitris Pelkas missed the chance to score a third goal for the Greek team just a few minutes before halftime.
The second half witnessed Ajax press hard. A mistake between the defenders of PAOK gifted Ajax a goal in the 57th minute by Klaas Jan Huntelaar.
PAOK will have to do their best next Tuesday in Amsterdam in their second leg.