Despite arriving back in the summer of 2018 when Marco Silva was still Everton manager, Bernard has struggled to really nail down a first-team spot at Goodison Park.

The Brazil international has generally been on the fringes of things, showing flashes of brilliance here and there, but never really with any impressive consistency.

All in all, he's played 66 times for the Toffees, scoring just five goals and providing six assists - in fact, it says a lot about how frustrating the 28-year-old has been, that he's actually earned more yellow cards than what he's contributed on the pitch (7).

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But with Carlo Ancelotti's magic touch at Goodison seemingly sparking a revival on the blue half of Merseyside, Bernard could finally begin to flourish. And whilst a Carabao Cup second round tie against Salford is hardly the measuring stick, and any excitement should be tempered, the Brazilian did produce a very fine performance on Wednesday night.

Though he didn't score or set up a goal, his overall display was brimming with creativity and energy, and it would have left Ancelotti surely impressed.

He looked as lively as he has ever been in an Everton shirt, boasting a 100% success rate with his dribbles, and providing a whopping seven key passes - the latter stat almost representing half his team's entire total (16).

Bernard also kept possession really well, rarely wasting the ball and making sure things were kept moving. He had 95 touches and completed 75 passes on the night, at a laser-like accuracy of 94% - the joint-best amongst Everton players.

Given the Toffees' superb 1-0 win over Tottenham in the opening Premier League game of the season, Ancelotti won't be too tempted to ring changes to his starting line-up when they take on West Brom on Saturday.

But Bernard's display in mid-week has just given the Italian some food for thought, and the way he has breathed new life into the man signed by Silva, could see the Toffees finally see the best of the little Brazilian.