Amsterdam football club Ajax beat Austrian side Sturm Graz 2-0 in their first match of the Champions League preliminary rounds.

Ajax finished second to PSV in the Dutch league last season and are hoping to qualify for the top flight tournament via the qualifying competition.

Hakim Ziyech put Ajax ahead in the 37th minute, while Lasse Schöne converted the rebound after a missed penalty to clinch the game in the second half.

The return match takes place next week in Austria. The winner of the tie will meet Standard Liège in third qualifying round for the Champions League competition.

Ajax, who have not won the Dutch title since 2014, has spent €41.6m on new players this season, including Daley Blind and Dusan Tadic. Tadic was brought on with 25 minutes to go while Blind, whose signing was only approved just over a week ago, took to the pitch 10 minutes ahead of full time.

After the match Blind, whose appearance was greeted by huge cheers, said he had goose bumps. ‘I’ve only been training for one and a half weeks so I am not yet at 100%, but I feel great,’ he told broadcaster NOS.