The taunting Portsmouth tweets that have been viewed more than 1m times and upped the rivalry between Blues and Southampton

So it’s hardly surprising that a couple of tweets from the Blues’ official Twitter account mocking that lot up the road for their Premier League relegation sparked more online argy-bargy from the warring factions.

The first simple but effective post on Saturday afternoon – following Saints’ decisive 2-0 home defeat to Fulham – was centred around a picture of Pompey defender Ryley Towler celebrating scoring for the Fratton Park outfit while making an ‘L’ – losers – gesture with has hand.

It was then accompanied by the words: ‘Good Afternoon’ and a smirking face emoji.

A second tweet followed soon afterwards, with the wording ‘Hey, @FulhamFC x’ joined by a picture of the Lilywhites players celebrating one of their two goals at St Mary’s.

Both posts have been viewed more than one million times and attracted thousands of likes. They’ve also been accompanied by many fans from both persuasions posting their comments.

Given our Pompey allegiance, there’s no way we’re going to allow Southampton fans a voice on this website. Come on – that’s never going to happen!

And while some of the Fratton faithful frowned at the tweets, the vast majority of Blues supporters on Twitter loved the digs as Saints came to terms with their return to the Championship.

‘Love you admin x’, wrote @jon81700. ‘I love this club’, commented @Perry_PFC.

‘Top trolling’, was @HutchyPaul’s take on the tweets, while @orangeandblue62 said: ‘Nicely done’.

‘Southampton proper rattled by this’, was @princeybcfc’s observation as he watched the uproar from St Mary’s fans coming in.

Of course, Pompey aren’t the only ones who involve themselves in this type of social media raillery. Only last year Saints’ official account tweeted a smirking face emoji when announcing the signing of 2021-22 Blues player of the year Gavin Bazunu.

Yet the last laugh remains with the Fratton faithful on that one, with Pompey fans loving the work of ‘Agent Bazunu’ during his maiden season at Saints and his roll in their 2022-23 downfall.