The Amsterdammers grabbed a 1-0 away victory over Vitesse Arnhem, courtesy of a first-half strike from midfielder Christian Eriksen.

With El Hamdaoui out due to flu and Suarez suspended, Mido was expected to play some role after scoring three times in his last four outings with Ajax.

However, new manager De Boer relied on 19-year-old Lorenzo Ebicilio along with Miralem Sulejmani and Siem de Jong upfront.

Ajax move to third place on 35 points, three behind leaders PSV Eindhoven.