Dusan Tadic starred for Ajax as the Dutch side eased to a comfortable 3-1 win over Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League play-offs first leg on Wednesday.
Young Boys tied 1-1 with Dynamo Zagreb and AEK Athens won 2-1 at Vidi with both sides having a man sent off.
Donny van de Beek sent Ajax ahead in the second minute thanks to a glaring error from Kiev goalkeeper Denys Boyko, who let the midfielder's shot slip under him.
The Ukrainians hit back with Tomasz Kedziora heading home on the rebound from a corner after Andre Onana denied Tamas Kadar.
Ajax dominated the ball but Kiev looked sharp on the break and the Dutch side needed a slice of luck to go ahead again when Hakim Ziyech's shot deflected in off of Kadar.
Former Southampton playmaker Tadic fired home Nicolas Tagliafico's low cross to send Ajax two goals ahead at the break.
Klaas Jan Huntelaar headed against the woodwork after the break and Ziyech smashed a low effort off the post late on as Ajax looked to virtually secure qualification for Europe's premiere competition before next week's second leg.
"It was a great game with great support. The fans were fantastic and we played great on the pitch. 3-1 is a good position (to go to Kiev)," said Ajax coach Erik ten Hag.
"Defending the second ball (from set pieces) we have to be more disciplined. We have to keep playing because if you lose the ball against this team then they come at you strong."
Hungarian minnows Vidi had Szabolcs Huszti sent off after just 23 minutes after a reckless challenge on AEK's Anastasios Bakasetas, who later was dismissed himself for crashing his studs into Istvan Kovacs' ankle.
Before that Viktor Klonaridis and Bakasetas struck for the Greek side, with Danko Lazovic later pulling one back for Vidi to give them a chance in Athens.
"After conceding we showed nervousness, which we shouldn't have. We had to keep the ball and not sit back so far," said AEK manager Marinos Ouzounidis.
"However they also threatened and were confident of scoring. I expected them to be hard to play but was also expecting to do better after the goals we scored.
"It's all up to us. If we have the attitude and focus we need in the second leg, I don't think we have a problem."
Swiss side Young Boys took an instant lead against Zagreb through Kevin Mbabu's second minute goal but Mislav Orsic hit back five minutes before the break.
The Croatians were on top in the second period with Izet Hajrovic striking the post, but the tie finished neatly poised for the second leg.
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