Spooky

Mourinho is here. These players are here. We need to stop comparing everything to something that has gone, start looking forwards to something that might yet come.

Perhaps Tottenham and their manager will have finally learnt their lesson with this performance. Caution does not pay against those struggling sides in the Premier League.

The incredulous look on Kane’s face – as his header flashed over the bar rather than into the net – suggested it was a chance he thought he should have buried.

5-0 doesn’t tell the entire story, however. With the North Londoners monopolising possession in the first twenty minutes but failing to find a way through the massed Marine ranks, the FA Cup almost worked its unique brand of magic.

And so in this strangest of seasons, Tottenham have navigated their unconventional road to Wembley via three games played in empty stadiums, bereft of the atmosphere that makes cup football special.

A match billed as a clash of two diametric footballing ideologies, where purist Marcelo Bielsa pitted his unwavering belief in front-foot football against the high priest of pragmatism Jose Mourinho, did not disappoint.