Ajax started Sunday's lunchtime game knowing that a win would take them three points clear of third-place rivals NEC, who lost 3-2 to Fortuna Sittard on Saturday evening. Caretaker manager Fred Grim went to battle without Kasper Dolberg and Sean Steur, who were replaced by Wout Weghorst, who was given his first start since November, and Oscar Gloukh.
PEC Zwolle put Ajax under constant pressure from the very start, with the Amsterdam giants unable to impress whatsoever. The hosts tried to break the deadlock with Shola Shoretire, Simon Graves, and Anselmo Garcia MacNulty, but to no avail.
It wasn't until the 39th minute that Ajax recorded a shot, which was fired high over the bar by Wout Weghorst.
After a penalty shout for PEC was quickly blown away earlier, referee Sander van der Eijk was called to the VAR screen for a potential Ajax penalty after Zico Buurmeester had the ball hit his hand following an overhead kick from Davy Klaassen. It wasn't enough for Van der Eijk to put the ball on the spot, however, as the two sides headed into half-time without any goals.
Another poor half saw Ajax start on the back foot and failing to record a shot on target until the 61st minute, when Youri Regeer tested Tom de Graaff, but not nearly enough to open the scoring in Zwolle.
An uneasy Maarten Paes gave PEC another present when his kick was easily blocked, giving the ball to Younes Namli. The PEC star couldn't control it properly, though, killing the chance and giving Paes the ball back.
Ajax tried their luck in the final stages via Kian Fitz-Jim, whose low cross just sailed across De Graaff's goal, and Mika Godts, who narrowly missed the ball as time started to run out for the visitors.
Fred Grim put Ajax's fate in the hands of a debutant in the final minutes, with Argentine Maher Carrizo coming on for Oscar Gloukh with just one minute of regular time remaining. The youngster nearly made his cameo count right away, but had his cross blocked just seconds after coming on.
But Carrizo couldn't break the deadlock either, leaving Ajax with just one point from their visit to the MAC3PARK Stadion in Zwolle - Ajax's first 0-0 in the Eredivisie since September 2023. Ajax take the third spot from NEC, who stay one point behind, while PEC Zwolle remain in 12th.
