Gaafar, who recently joined the club from Egypt Telecom, scored Zamalek's second goal on 12 minutes, just moments after Ahmed Ghanem broke the deadlock.

Ghanem later received his marching orders midway through the first half for dissent.

Playmaker Shikabala added a third in the 17th minute before Sherif Ashraf's brace (30 and 66) wrapped up the big win for Michel Decastel's men.

The game also witnessed the participation of defender Amir Azmi, full-back Mohamed Abdul-Shafi and Moroccan schemer Abdul-Karim Kissi, who all joined the club during the current off-season.

While Abdul-Shafi was injured with a cut below his eyebrow four minutes after the kick-off, Kissi was praised by Zamalek fans for his display.

The fans also paid tribute to former striker Abdul-Halim Ali, who announced his retirement from the game last week.