Widespread anger: did Newcastle deliberately provoke Al-Ahly after the Sundowns shock?

Al-Ahli Saudi's collapse continued in South Africa on Saturday. A 2-1 defeat to Sundowns in the final of the Intercontinental Cup for clubs sent the anger of "Al-Raqi" fans boiling over, the latest low for a team crowned AFC Champions League Elite winners in each of the last two seasons.

German head coach Matthias Jaissle has gone to Newcastle United. Contracts have been torn up and left unrenewed, with Riyad Mahrez and Franck Kessie the most notable departures. Al-Ahli entered the current season in disarray on every level.

Newcastle, meanwhile, were celebrating a 2-1 win over Hull City before the international break. They sit eighth on 8 points in the Premier League, four points behind runners-up Arsenal and leaders Manchester City, who could stretch the gap to 7 points alongside the Magpies today when they face Sunderland.

The English club's delight at that win, though, went down rather differently among Al-Ahli fans and the supporters of their domestic rivals!

Newcastle United's Arabic account posted a picture of a smiling Yaisle after the match and wrote: "The feeling of going into the international break as a winner."

Saudi fans, for their part, did not let the tweet slide. Some read it as a dig at Al-Ahli, while a number of the club's supporters asked with real regret why Yaisle had ever left the "fortress of trophies".

Abu Nawar wrote: "What are the reasons for Matias's departure? If you have the answer, I hope you can enlighten us."

The account SH said: "God protect us, have mercy on them," while fayez_1976f said: "It was intentional."

Hani, seemingly an Al-Ahli fan, took a very different line. He played the German coach down and went after him hard: "Look at him, a coach who was being carried along by Mahrez and Kessie. Don't be fooled, time will show you and you'll see it, and he's laughing at you, you lowly one of England."

The account of Saad Al-Hariri saw it differently: "This coach has a passion for coaching and is technically present. Newcastle changed with his presence and became a heavyweight team, and also the league is one of the best leagues in the world."

Al-Ahli fan "Abu Btal" wrote: "This tweet is clearly from the same person who dismantled Al-Ahli after 2016."

Another zeroed in on the timing of the tweet: "Rudeness, I swear to God."