Saturday night's draw also means City could yet let second place, and with it an Asian Champions League Elite berth and the first week of finals off, slip, while Adelaide's finals hopes are all but over.
A victory at AAMI Park would have kept pressure on Auckland at the top.
Instead, Steve Corica's charges, the first Kiwi side to win the premiership, can celebrate their first silverware when they host Perth Glory at Go Media Stadium on Sunday.
Auckland (50 points) lead City (45), Western Sydney (43), Melbourne Victory (42) and Western United (41).
The result all but ends Adelaide's season as the Reds (sixth, 38 points, -2 goal difference) don't play again and require Sydney FC (seventh, 37 points, +12 goal difference) to lose their next two games.
Outgoing coach Carl Veart has likely led the Reds for the final time while the match also appeared to be club great Isaias and fellow veteran Javi Lopez's last games.
Talented Reds striker Archie Goodwin, who is joint golden boot leader with Sydney's Adrian Segecic on 13 goals, suffered a right hamstring injury in the first half.
Six minutes into the game, City striker Max Caputo missed from point blank range after a good build-up from Yonatan Cohen and Marco Tilio.
In the 11th minute, Goodwin burst towards goal but Patrick Beach came off his line and charged him down, while Stefan Mauk blasted another effort over the bar 10 minutes later.
Goodwin was substituted after just 31 minutes, when he pulled up while sprinting to attack.
City, whose unbeaten A-League Women team were presented with their premiers plate at halftime, took control in the second half and peppered the goal (16 total shots to six) without reward.
Tilio and Andreas Kuen had good long-range efforts in quick succession just before the hour mark, with Max Vartuli stepping up to deny the latter.
In the 64th minute, Nathaniel Atkinson slipped Kuen through but Vartuli got in the way, while the teenage Adelaide stopper brilliantly denied Yonatan Cohen in the 70th.
Beach brilliantly came off his line to deny Dylan Pierias late.
But City couldn't find a winner, with youngster Lawrence Wong dragging two late chances heartbreakingly off target.
City host Sydney FC next Saturday.
14°C