The FA Cup is over for Everton for another season and indeed for Goodison Park full stop after Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Bournemouth but on this day four years ago, the Blues triumphed in what was one of their most dramatic ties in the competition – even though there were no fans present to witness their 5-4 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

In normal circumstances, Goodison would have been shaking to the rafters when Bernard netted the decisive ninth goal of the night in extra time but with spectators kept out due to the coronavirus pandemic, the defining image of the game was instead Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti calmly blowing into his cup of tea while those around him went berserk.

As is the fashion in the third decade of the 21st century, Ancelotti’s cool, understated reaction to the dramatic winner quickly became a social media meme with the Blues boss superimposed against backgrounds depicting the sinking of the Titanic, eruption of Krakatoa and even the impending doom of the asteroid hurtling towards the Earth that would cause the extinction of the dinosaurs. At the time, Evertonians, forced like all other football supporters, to watch the action from television at home, revelled in the Italian’s relaxed response.

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As Ancelotti’s own son and assistant Davide acknowledged when asked what he admired most about his father’s managerial style, it was his ability to remain balanced in stressful situations. After all, here was a super-coach who had secured major honours in all five of Europe’s big leagues and taken charge of three Champions League-winning sides – the only man not to have achieved that feat with a single club.

Ancelotti, who has subsequently now reached five Champions League triumphs, had seen and done it all in the biggest and best dugouts of the continent and Everton fans were delighted to have him. Unlike Farhad Moshiri’s previous appointments, his arrival was unanimously endorsed by the fanbase and almost instantly he had his own terrace anthem ‘Carlo Fantastico, Carlo Magnifico.’

Despite seeing his previous stint in England abruptly cut short by Chelsea – at Goodison before he’d even left the ground after a 1-0 defeat to Everton, just a year after steering the Londoners to a Premier League and FA Cup double – Ancelotti had penned a four-and-a-half year contract with the Blues which he’d publicly declared he’d like to extend to lead the club into their new stadium. But before the ‘Grand Old Lady’ even had chance to play host to another capacity crowd, Ancelotti had gone, returning to one of his previous posts at Real Madrid.

Perhaps the lure of European football’s most-successful club side was always going to prove too great or maybe at 62, after seeing his side plummet from being second on Boxing Day and still fifth in March with the chance to jump into the Champions League places if they won their game in hand, to ultimately finishing 10th, Ancelotti figured that time was not on his side when it came to this project? What this tie did show though was that after some dour, half-baked contests in the early days of football behind closed doors, some games in empty stadia could still produce a thrilling tempo at times.

Phil Kirkbride of the ECHO wrote: “Three goals in seven first half minutes (Dominic Calvert-Lewin, 36, with a half volley too hot to handle; Richarlison, 38, a low drive from just outside the area and Gylfi Sigurdsson, 43 penalty after Calvert-Lewin was fouled) suddenly had Everton in a 3-1 lead, having conceded in the third minute when Davison Sanchez profited from generous defending that would linger in the air like a bad smell. But the chaos was turned up a notch when more slapstick work at the back allowed Erik Lamela to make it 3-2 just before the break.

“Three-two became 3-3 when Sanchez scored from another corner but with just over 20 minutes left, and with Everton missing the now injured Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison produced a sublime finish to make it 4-3.

“Defend the lead, protect the lead, keep things tight... sadly, it wasn’t yet the night for that. Harry Kane forced the game into extra-time with seven minutes left.”

With legs tiring, those in reserve were making a difference and Kirkbride added: “It was beginning to look like a battle of the benches. But it was the change that probably seemed the least likely to make a difference, who made the biggest: Bernard.

“Sigurdsson delivered a sumptuous ball over the top, Bernard (97) brought it down and volleyed it home. Everton had 23 minutes to protect what they had,” but this time they did in “relatively comfortable” fashion.

Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, who when in charge of Chelsea back in 2004 had derided Arsenal’s 5-4 north London Derby win over his future employers as “a hockey score” and “disgraceful” in an 11-a-side match, would leave his own post before Ancelotti, sacked on the eve of the League Cup final against Manchester City who would also end Everton’s FA Cup interest in the next round.