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David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals should not fall solely on his side's forwards. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender rose to the occasion, earning a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as Fulham showed the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a short spell in the second half, the visitors were kept quiet throughout by the home team's superior intensity and technical ability. The Blues had three efforts ruled out for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No one needed a goal as much as the young striker, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from Villarreal and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The 23-year-old directed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent later in the half but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, however, and withdrew the player at the interval.

The striker thought his luck had changed at last when sliding in at the far post to convert a low cross by his teammate. But the joy of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was offside when going for the delivery, and missing, and the VAR supported the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in front of goal, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and effort kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to Everton the upper hand throughout.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by his teammate and sent a free-kick from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, inspired by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the rebound. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt beating the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball to the far post when found in space on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a further effort ruled out early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that reached the home player. Everton would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a two-goal lead. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that the defender glanced past the goalkeeper. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat after the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his feet to prevent Muniz scoring with his first touch and stopped the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.