A slightly changed Ajax saw manager Francesco Farioli give 19-year-old centre-back Dies Janse just his second start of the season and start the usual suspects up front - Mika Godts, Brian Brobbey, and Bertrand Traore returned to the starting eleven after playing reserve roles in Thursday's 2-0 Europa League victory in Brussels over Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.
Saturday's 2-2 draw between PSV and FC Utrecht meant the home side could take the outright lead in the Eredivisie with a win over Heracles. Ajax already took the lead last weekend after beating Fortuna Sittard 2-0 one day after PSV's 1-1 draw against Willem II on the merit of having played fewer games.
A low-paced match saw Heracles remain in contention in the opening stages, even coming close to opening score when in-form striker Luka Kulenovic narrowly missed in front of former Heracles goalkeeper Remko Pasveer's goal.
After an early chance for struggling striker Brian Brobbey and two from Kian Fitz-Jim, Ajax took the lead after just thirteen minutes when Belgian winger Mika Godts calmly finished a chance created by a stunning deep ball from Steven Berghuis.
Instead of conceding an equaliser, Ajax widened the margin a few minutes before half-time after Brian Brobbey capped off a smooth attack built by Josip Sutalo and Bertrand Traore.
With the home side firmly holding the game in their grasp, Farioli saw the opportunity to give January acquisition Oliver Edvardsen his first minutes in the Johan Cruyff ArenA and hand the recently recovered Mika Godts a half of rest.
25-year-old Edvardsen did not wait long before making an impact as the Norwegian winger acrobatically and smartly finished a Jorrel Hato cross by lifting it over Heracles stopper Fabian de Keijzer for the 3-0 and his first Ajax goal.
After Edvardsen came close to a second, a colleague was able to celebrate his own special feat - vice captain Davy Klaassen, nicknamed 'Mister 1-0', calmly slotted the ball home after 64 minutes and promoted himself to 'Mister 1-0-0' by scoring his 100th goal for Ajax.
A festive day in Amsterdam was capped off by debuts for two of the club's biggest talents as 18-year-old Rayane Bounida - who signed a three-year contract extension less than 24 hours prior to Sunday's kick-off - and 17-year-old Sean Steur were allowed some minutes in the closing stages of the match.
A spotless afternoon for Ajax meant the Amsterdam side head into next week with a two-point lead over PSV. Ajax play the second leg of their UEFA Europa League knock-out draw against Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in Amsterdam before hosting Go Ahead Eagles in a reduced 4-match gameweek.
Meanwhile, Heracles saw their 9-game unbeaten streak come to an end in Amsterdam. A surprising result could've seen Heracles jump to as high as eighth place in the tightly packed Eredivisie midfield.
View all the match statistics on Flashscore.
