Ajax's players greet the fans after the first leg of third qualifying round match of UEFA Champions League between PAOK Thessaloniki and Ajax at Toumpa Stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece, on Aug. 6, 2019. (Xinhua/Dimitris Tosidis)

THESSALONIKI, Greece, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- 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.