He threw a jersey to a fan, it flew back to him. Atmosphere at Everton heats up, traditional club is one point away from relegation

Everton travelled to Bournemouth on Saturday as favourites to win, but returned home with a 0:3 debacle. An angry sector awaited the Toffees players after the game, unable to take their third loss in the last eight days. Alex Iwobi took the brunt of it.

Iwobi made his way to the away sector after the final whistle and threw his jersey to the fans. The angry crowd roared as the Nigerian winger interacted with friends he had invited to the match. They sat in the front rows.

As Iwobi said goodbye to his friends and left, his jersey flew back onto the pitch. An unknown fan threw it back to him. Iwobi didn’t register it until captain Seamus Coleman handed the jersey back to him in the tunnel on the way to the stands.

“I didn’t go there to comfort the players. There was a misunderstanding, Alex had a few friends he was concerned about who were in the front of the fans. There is nothing in it,” said coach Frank Lampard, who also attended the post-match meeting with the fans, at a press conference.

The fans’ gesture of discontent and incoherence with the players was unfair to Iwobi. Although the Caramels as a unit remain well below expectations in terms of play and results, the former Arsenal player is traditionally one of the best on the pitch.

For Everton, the debacle at Bournemouth was their third loss in a row. They crashed out of the Carabao Cup against the same opponent last week, and lost 0-2 at home to Leicester last weekend. He has been waiting for a win since October 22.

The poor form is also reflected in the table position. Everton have dropped to 17th place, one point clear of the relegation zone. Moreover, Lampard’s men are only three points behind last-placed Wolverhampton.

Everton will therefore winter a point from relegation during the World Cup in Qatar. Right on Boxing Day, it will face a six-point battle with Wolverhampton, which it cannot afford to lose at home.

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