Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane has revealed he was insulted by Zamalek coaches during the heated Cairo Derby.
Mosimane maintained his unbeaten record since arriving in the Egyptian Premier League in September courtesy of a Mohamed Sherif brace and goalkeeper Ali Lotfi's heroic display.
Zamalek legend Shikabala's stunning equaliser proved nothing more than a memento in the fierce rivalry between the two clubs as Ahly moved three points behind the league leaders with three games in hand.
And Mosimane admits tempers flared on the bench as usual, with the Portuguese speaking technical staff of Carteron's attempting a war of words.
"I fully appreciate Patrice Carteron and there was no verbal altercation between us during the game," Mosimane said.
"However, his assistants insulted me in Portuguese and I understood them and I responded back. We have to become professionals and accept what happens on the pitch.
Mosimane was without a host of first-team stars through injury like Ali Maaloul, Mohamed Hany, Hamdi Fathi while captain Mohamed El Shanawy was ruled out through Covid-19, which left the two-time CAF Champions League winner impressed as his side maintained their usual standards.
"We managed to win and control the course of the game, particularly in the first 20 minutes, after we imposed our method and implemented our plan very well," Mosimane said.
"We outperformed a strong side who has a head coach at a high level of ability but my players had a strong desire to win. Ali Lotfi is the man of the match in my opinion. I strongly trust all of my players."
The Egyptian Premier League champions face eighth-placed Smouha next on Wednesday evening at Al-Salam Stadium (21h00).