The Cairo giants failed to leapfrog Ismaili to second place in the Egyptian League and their performance was largely affected by the absence of Amr Zaki, Gamal Hamza and Magdi Attwa.

"The trio's behavior after our elimination from the Arab Champions League at the hands of Jordan's Faisali was not appropriate so I had to drop them from the local squad," Michel told the post-match press conference.

Top scorer Zaki and midfield duo Attwa and Hamza skipped Zamalek's training following the stunning defeat, with the latter hitting out at the technical staff for fielding him as a late substitute in recent matches.

Zamalek were leading 2-1 at halftime, but a disappointing second-half display from the men in white saw Ismaili claim a precious draw.

"The players were too cautious in the second period and couldn't push forward because they feared a repeat of Faisali match's scenario."

The French boss said he played under-fire keeper Mohamed Abdul-Monsef to help him regain his self-confidence after a disastrous display against Faisali.

On the other hand, Ismaili manager Patrice Neveu blamed fatigue for his side's below-par performance.

"We didn't have much time to physically prepare the players as we returned from Zambia just three days before Zamalek match following the CAF Confederation Cup game against Zambia's Green Buffaloes," he said.