Shortly after the Portland Timbers suffered their fourth consecutive loss by falling 3-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes Saturday, forward Lucas Melano posted an unexpected picture in his Instagram story.

After a poor start against FC Cincinnati on March 17 and three ineffective appearances off the bench, Melano was left off the game day roster for Saturday’s match against the Earthquakes and did not travel with the club to San Jose.

From his apartment in Portland, Melano posted a photo after Portland’s loss showing a bowl of popcorn and a cup of mate tea in the foreground and the Timbers game on the television in the background. It was not immediately clear what Melano’s intention was in posting the photo. While Melano’s post may have simply been innocuous and ill-timed, eating popcorn is a popular online meme that represents watching with satisfaction while drama unfolds elsewhere. Fans on social media quickly started to speculate about whether Melano was throwing shade at his club. ESPN analyst Taylor Twellman even retweeted a picture of Melano’s photo.

“First of all, I didn’t know he liked popcorn,” said Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese when asked about his reaction to Melano’s photo.

“For me, I’m always going to try to make sure that the guys that step on the field are the guys that are giving their all for the team, for the organization,” Savarese added. “There are some moments where we make some selections and decisions. Maybe it’s a different time. In my time, we never texted or did anything during matches. We concentrated. Maybe we got a little bit upset about our coaches and tried to prove them wrong.”

The Timbers paid a $5 million transfer fee to sign Melano in 2015, but the Argentine forward was sent on loan following the 2016 season after failing to live up to expectations. He returned to the Timbers last August and showed some promise off the bench late last year. But Melano only managed to tally one goal and one assist in 11 overall appearances last season. He has yet to record a goal or an assist in 83 minutes played this year.

Melano wasn’t injured, wasn’t in the 18 and posted a pic of popcorn right after the match. Please advise if this is shade! @TA_Threat #RCTID pic.twitter.com/rUwCHdDrw0 — Lindzay🌹 (@LindsayAdaire) April 7, 2019

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg

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