Zamalek French coach Patrice Carteron has extolled the performance of his team's players after the 1-0 win over Masry in the Egyptian Premier League on Thursday, stressing it's a good step to book a place in the next season's CAF Champions League.

After 143 days suspension, the Egyptian Premier League returned to life on Thursday when Zamalek defeated Masry in a rescheduled game at Alexandria's Borg El-Arab stadium.

"I am happy with players performance as they performed a superb physical game against a team who depended on the defence," Carteron told Zamalek's TV channel after the game.

Thursday's win helped Zamalek climb to the second place in the league table with 34 points, 15 points behind leaders Ahly.

"We gained a deserved three points as it's a good step to return to the second place in the table to reach the CAF Champions League next season," Carteron said.

"Our target is collect more points in the Egyptian Premier League to book a place in the Champions League,"

"It's would not be right that Zamalek won't play in the African Champions League next season," the French added.

The Egyptian Premier League has been suspended since mid-March with just half the matches played due to the coronavirus, leaving many clubs puzzled as to how the season could be completed without disrupting the next edition, which normally starts in October at the latest.

The current season will now last until October at least but the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said it will make sure no further disruptions will occur in the following season.

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