With new acquisitions Oleksandr Zinchenko and Maarten Paes in the stands, Ajax faced Excelsior with two changes as opposed to Wednesday's 2-1 UEFA Champions League defeat to Olympiakos - Oscar Gloukh and Owen Wijndal were replaced by Rayane Bounida and Lucas Rosa, who fell injured during warm-ups and was replaced by Jorthy Mokio shortly before kick-off.
The Amsterdam giants were out for revenge after Excelsior won their first-ever game in Amsterdam in November, beating Ajax 2-1 in a shocking result.
After captain Davy Klaassen missed Ajax's first chance of the afternoon in the 15th minute, Belgian winger Mika Godts handed the visitors the lead after clinically capping off a brilliant, fast-paced one-touch attack from Mokio, Klaassen and Bounida.
The young Godts struck again shortly before half-time to double Ajax's lead - following an interception, Anton Gaaei gave the ball to a wide-open Kasper Dolberg, who stayed cool in the box and played it through to Godts with a backheel pass. Godts smashed it past Stijn van Gassel for the 2-0.
A good first half was followed up by a very tame second from Ajax, who were offensively incapable of creating chances and saw Excelsior gain rhythm. Only Rayane Bounida came close to scoring with a strong effort that was blasted just wide of Van Gassel's post.
The hosts pounced on the opportunity with 15 minutes remaining - Miliano Jonathans headed in the 2-1 for Excelsior after a quick combination between Ferry de Regt and Irakli Yegoian on the left wing.
Excelsior completed an unexpected turnaround mere minutes after Jonathans' goal, when Arthur Zagre escaped from Anton Gaaei's lacklustre guard and smashed it past Vitezslav Jaros in the 79th minute.
A stale Ajax side failed to make any impact whatsoever in the closing stages, with Excelsior getting the biggest chance via Noah Naujoks, who had his long-distance effort parried away safely by Jaros.
For the second time in three Eredivisie games, Ajax wasted a precious two-goal lead after a second-half meltdown, following their 2-2 draw against Go Ahead Eagles on January 17th. The Amsterdam giants missed the opportunity to overtake Feyenoord in the standings ahead of their high-profile clash with PSV later on Sunday.
Excelsior, meanwhile, secured their fourth consecutive draw in an unexpected result against record champions Ajax. The promoted Rotterdam outfit have a 7-point lead over 16th-placed NAC Breda.
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