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David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals must not rest only on his side's forwards. “I demand more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender rose to the occasion, securing a merited victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine outings was relatively comfortable as the visitors showed the reason their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a short spell in the latter period, the away side were contained all match by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three goals ruled out for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header ensured there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one needed a goal as much as the young striker, the Everton attacker who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without a shot on target after his big-money move from Villarreal and missed a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

The striker believed his luck had changed at last when sliding in at the far post to turn in a low cross by his teammate. But the joy of a maiden strike was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was offside when attacking Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee supported the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in front of goal, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and effort kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give the hosts the edge all game.

The Londoners came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when set up inside the area by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and the captain fired home the loose ball. The skipper had just strayed offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But the team's next effort beating the keeper counted. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the back post when found in space on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer converted from point-blank. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a third goal ruled out early in the second half after the playmaker found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when competing with Joachim Anderson for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. The provider was the creator with a set-piece that the defender directed past the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham carried more of a threat following the substitutions of Josh King, the Brazilian and the winger. Pickford saved well with his feet to prevent Muniz scoring with his first touch and denied Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.