Marino Bositic passed his first real test as Al Ahli head coach on Wednesday, guiding the club to a 1-0 victory over Auckland FC at King Abdullah Sports City in the first round of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. Substitute Saleh Abou Alshamat scored the only goal in the 63rd minute, and the win books a second-round meeting with South Africa's Sundowns. It was a timely result for Bositic, who took charge after Matthias Jaissle's abrupt departure to Newcastle United earlier this month and had faced a sceptical fanbase. The performance will not silence every critic, but it gave the new manager a platform to build on.

On the domestic front, Al Ahli sit fourth in the Saudi Pro League after two matches, level on six points with Al Hilal and several other sides, with a clean sheet in both games underlining defensive solidity. Ivan Toney leads the club's scoring charts after a hat-trick against Abha in Gameweek 2, and the forward's form is one of the few unambiguous positives around the squad right now. The next league fixture comes on Saturday away at Al Kholood.

Off the pitch, the atmosphere around the club remains unsettled. Fans publicly called for sporting director Rui Pedro Braz to leave during the Abha match, while reports of Enzo Millot departing on loan to Al Diriyah and lingering controversy over Jaissle's alleged commission from the Mathieu Dams transfer continue to generate noise. Al Ahli are winning, but the internal turbulence has not gone away.