Carlo Ancelotti's Everton continue trophy hunt against flailing Tottenham in FA Cup

Italian manager happy to be bracketed alongside Jose Mourinho

MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David de Gea 5. Quiet first half bar Richarlison benefitting from a Lindelof mix up. The second half is when it all went wrong. Should have done better for Doucoure’s goal after a weak parry. Could do little about second but quickly lashed a ball over his full-backs near the end rather than trying to help see game out. Could he have come out more for Everton’s third? Getty Images

Aaron Wan-Bissaka 7. Played Calvert-Lewin onside early on but had a fruitful first half where he found much space to get forward and cross. Passed to Fernandes to score his wonder goal. Hesitation cost him possession in second and the whole defence could have done better on all three goals. Reuters

Victor Lindelof 6. Early charge forward and keen to carry the ball into the Everton half as United dominated against a team who’d won their previous four away games – though didn’t create too many chances. Made a mess on the turn to allow Richarlison – who he’d previously dominated - a shot after 41 minutes and struggled with pace of Everton’s forwards in a woeful start to second half. EPA

Harry Maguire 6. Fine against Calvert-Lewin in first half but then weak on Everton’s first goal and found wanting on Everton’s second as his defence failed to clear their lines and gave James Rodriguez space to shoot. Fell to ground and lost possession late on as United hearts went in mouths. PA Images

Luke Shaw 7. Fine on Calvert-Lewin and, like Wan-Bissaka, could get forward because of Everton’s narrow diamond formation. Brilliant combination with Cavani after 46 minutes before he shot on target. Set up McTominay’s goal. Booked. EPA

Scott McTominay 7. Strong tackles to break up spirited Everton start. Pushed forward and scored – again at Old Trafford – with a header which looked to be United’s winner … until heartbreak seconds from time. AFP

Paul Pogba 6. January’s player of the month at the club and started after being rested midweek but went off after 39 minutes injured and clutching his thigh. Unfortunate. AP

Mason Greenwood 8. Super ball from deep to Shaw in an early attack which went nowhere but exposed Everton’s lack of width. Crossed well and United’s liveliest player in the first half, passing short and long with both feet, crossing and taking players on. AP

Bruno Fernandes 7. Floored by early Davies tackle and barely touched the ball in the first 25 minutes as Everton’s formation choked him. More involved after the opening goal, then he produced the moment of the match, ignoring a Fred pass, then receiving the ball back from Wan-Bissaka and nonchalantly shooting into the roof of the goal. Spectacular. PA Images

Marcus Rashford 6. Perfect cross with beautiful technique for Cavani’s opener. Confident going forward and combined well with well balanced attack around him. Had two chances to get the fourth. Needs to be more clinical. Getty Images

Edinson Cavani 8. Scored in both wins v Everton this season and took 24 minutes to do the same, pausing to time his movement and waiting to head in Rashford’s cross. Intelligent in movement and with simple passes. Shame he wasn’t at the end of some of the chances created. AP

SUB: Fred 6. On for injured Pogba after 41minutes to resume partnership with McTominay. Weak shot wide almost immediately. Poor over hit cross ended a fine 63rd minute attack. Needed to provide more cover. Getty Images

SUB: Axel Tuanzebe NA. On for Greenwood in 92nd minute to win a minute in time added on. Booked and gave a foul away which led to late equaliser. It could not have gone worse for the defender. Reuters

EVERTON RATINGS: Robin Olsen, 5 - A mixed evening for the Swede who thwarted Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford with smart saves, but was beaten emphatically by Edinson Cavani’s powerful header and a Bruno Fernandes screamer, while the less said about United’s third the better. EPA

Mason Holgate, 5 - It’s never an easy job defending at Old Trafford and proved to be the case for Holgate who showed some early nerves with a sliced clearance that dropped kindly for Cavani, while Marcus Rashford always had his number on a tough night for full-back. AFP

Michael Keane, 6 - Started brightly with important interventions to keep Victor Lindelof and Cavani at bay. He was taken out of the game by Rashford’s superb delivery as United went in front, but his clipped ball into the box set up Dominic Calvert-Lewin to make it 3-3. EPA

Ben Godfrey, 5 - It took a brave header from the young defender to prevent Cavani’s chipped cross from reaching Fernandes, who caught him in the face for his troubles. Like his teammates he struggled to deal with the energy of Rashford and the menace of Cavani. AFP

Lucas Digne, 6 - Failed to stop Rashford’s cross for the opener and struggled with Mason Greenwood's pace in spells, but his teasing cross from the left was instrumental in the build-up to the equaliser, while he clattered the side of the post late on. Reuters

Abdoulaye Doucoure, 7 - Kept his side in the game at both ends, first smashing Paul Pogba’s perilous header away to safety with Scott McTominay lurking, before tapping into an empty net after David de Gea could only parry Calvert-Lewin’s strike. Reuters

Tom Davies, 5 - The 22-year-old became the latest man to rile Fernandes when he clattered into United’s talisman from behind. He started well, but ultimately couldn’t contain a fired up Fernandes who sold him the wrong way before unleashing a beautiful strike for 2-0. EPA

Andre Gomes, 6 - Like Davies, it was an impressive start from the Portugal international who snuffed out a string of passes intended for his compatriot Fernandes and Cavani in the early exchanges, but that task became increasingly more difficult. Reuters

James Rodriguez, 6 - Talk about a game of two halves! Once again guilty of fizzling into the background in a carless first half, he started the second superbly and produced a wonderful touch before hammering past De Gea into the bottom corner to level the game. AFP

Richarlison, 7 - The Brazilian always looked lively and was constantly a threat when Everton were able to switch the play to the left. Frustratingly his teammates didn’t look to pick him out enough, despite a series of bursting runs in the channel. EPA

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, 8 - You just can’t stop him! The forward dragged his side back into the game when his effort from a tight angle was fumbled straight to Abdoulaye Doucoure by De Gea, and he was on-hand again to stab home a dramatic equaliser for his 17th of the season. AFP

SUB: Gylfi Sigurdsson, 7 - Brought on to replace James Rodriguez just shy of the hour-mark as Carlo Ancelotti searched for an unlikely winner, only for his side to fall behind a couple of minutes later, although he asked a couple of questions with calculated set-pieces. Reuters

SUB: Alex Iwobi, NR - Replaced Tom Davies for the final quarter-of-an-hour, but he had little impact and failed to trouble Shaw. EPA

SUB: Josh King, NR - The former Red Devil replaced Doucoure as the Toffees made one last attempt to unstick their opponents. He imposed himself well and drew the foul that led to a last-gasp leveller. EPA

Last week, Jose Mourinho posed a question, safe in the knowledge he already possessed the answer. “Since when without a title?” he said of Tottenham. They last won the league in 1961, silverware of any variety in 2008.

To put it another way, Mourinho has won 25 trophies in the 21st century and Tottenham one. Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti was appointed Reggiana manager in 1995, a few weeks after Everton lifted the FA Cup. The Italian has 20 honours during a period when his current employers have none.

Everton against Tottenham is the clash of the superstar managers, hired to bring their winning habit and mentality to clubs starved of this particular type of success. “I know how Evertonians are desperate to win trophies,” Ancelotti said. “I don’t know if it is the right time this season. What I can assure them is we are doing everything to try and have a trophy here as soon as possible.”

Qualifying for continental competition is an aim for a manager defined by his exploits there but he explained: “For the stability of the club, it is the most important to reach the position in Europe. For the happiness, a trophy is really important.”

One of Everton’s great servants of the trophy-less era, Leighton Baines, was in tears when his missed penalty was a factor in their 2019 League Cup quarter-final defeat to Leicester.

Under Ancelotti, Everton exited the League Cup in a December quarter-final against Manchester United in December and the FA Cup to a weakened, youthful Liverpool team last year.

“The players know the difficulties and the beauty of this competition,” he reflected. There had been more difficulties than beauty in recent years. In the four seasons after Roberto Martinez’s side were semi-finalists in 2016, Everton won a solitary FA Cup tie; even that was against Lincoln.

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Now Ancelotti hosts Mourinho in the FA Cup on Wednesday. They were FA Cup winners in 2010 and 2007 respectively, both with Chelsea. It is not the only common denominator. They managed in Milan at the same time, the Italian for AC and the Portuguese for Inter. Ancelotti was to succeed Mourinho at Real Madrid.

Tottenham’s run of three defeats in four games has brought renewed criticism of Mourinho. If his brand of football has gone out of style, if he is deemed an anachronism who is too defensive. Ancelotti disagrees and feels privileged to be bracketed alongside him.

“I think our ideas of football are really close,” he said. “How I see his team play is comparable to us. For me to be compared to Jose is an honour. Mourinho’s teams are always in balance. I think he is focused defensively and offensively, like I am. I don’t know if it is old style or new style; it doesn’t matter. But if they say to me, your team is playing old-style football, I am pleased.”

Ancelotti believes Everton have lost that balance a little of late. They mounted a stirring comeback to draw 3-3 at Old Trafford on Sunday, but have now conceded six goals in their last three games. Before then, they were breached just four times in six games.

They are one of a host of teams with a better away than home record this season but perhaps their most prestigious scalp on the road was the first: Tottenham, on the opening weekend.

“The last game against them was good so I hope we can repeat the first game of the season,” said Ancelotti. He will give James Rodriguez and Jordan Pickford fitness tests, pledging to pick the Colombian if he is fit. Like Mourinho, like Ancelotti, Rodriguez is a serial winner, but at least one will lose out on Wednesday.