Amidst nagging rumours of a move to Paris Saint-Germain, star winger Mika Godts was a last-minute omission from Ajax's starting XI as he did not feel fit enough to start. 17-year-old Abdellah Ouazane was handed his Eredivisie debut, while Barcelona loanee Marc ter Stegen and former Monaco back Caio Henrique were also given their maiden starts.
Ajax dominated most of the opening half hour, creating a handful of chances and testing Jesper Schendelaar via Ouazane, Steven Berghuis, Kasper Dolberg, and Aaron Bouwman, but Michel Sanchez's team failed to find a quick breakthrough.
Ter Stegen proved his worth 34 minutes into his debut when Tobias Sommer was given a free header from four yards out, but the Dane was held from scoring by a superb reflex from the German goalkeeper.
PEC Zwolle were reduced to ten men with over 30 minutes remaining after a reckless challenge from Sherel Floranus, who comes in from behind and plants his studs in the calf of Lucas Rosa, resulting in a swift red card.
With the likes of Mika Godts, Julian Brandt, Marcos Leonardo, and Tolu Arokodare on the pitch in the last half hour, Ajax hardly upped the pressure and still couldn't muster many big chances, letting the match become a race against the clock.
The presence of the 1.97m-tall Arokodare made an immediate difference - the Nigerian striker controlled and laid off a cross from Lucas Rosa, giving Jorthy Mokio a perfect opportunity to fire it past Jesper Schendelaar in the 77th minute.
It wasn't smooth sailing for Ajax towards the final whistle, with PEC Zwolle boldly taking over control and piling pressure onto Ajax. But instead, it was Julian Brandt who capped off a smooth, overpowering attack from Ajax to seal the deal in the 95th minute.
The Amsterdam side held on, securing an opening-weekend victory ahead of their second leg in the UEFA Conference League third-round qualifiers.
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