Wadi Degla manager Patrice Carteron lauded new winter signing Florent Malouda after he helped his team hold reigning league champions Zamalek to a 1-1 draw at Cairo's Petrosport Stadium on Sunday.

Making his debut against Zamalek, ex-Chelsea forward Malouda set up the opener in the 12^th minute after his right-wing corner was headed home by defender Mahmoud Alaa.

Malouda, who led Chelsea to the UEFA Champions League title in 2012, almost doubled Degla's advantage two minutes into the second half but had a penalty denied by the crossbar.

"Despite joining training just two weeks ago Malouda appeared in good shape today," French manager Carteron said of his compatriot in the post-match news conference.

"He registered his first assist of the season and had he scored the penalty, he would've been the man of the match.

"If you were watching the game for the first time, you wouldn't have been able to tell who are Zamalek and who are Wadi Degla, we were so close to defeating the league holders."

In a match that saw Zamalek miss a host of gilt-edged chances, particularly in the second half, Degla could have well prevailed in the final moments hadn't substitute Junior Mapuku's strike been denied by the post. 

The 35-year-old Malouda, who joined from Indian side Delhi Dynamos, played the full match for Degla – who are 11^th of the Egyptian league table.  

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