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The Everton manager had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net must not rest only on the team's forwards. “I demand more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane duly obliged, securing a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine outings was relatively comfortable as the visitors showed the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a short spell in the second half, the away side were contained all match by the home team's superior intensity and technical ability. The Blues had three goals ruled out for offside, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No player needed a goal more than the young striker, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by his teammate's fine cross.

The home side dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, rightly ignored home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and withdrew the player at the interval.

Barry thought his fortune had changed at last when sliding in at the back post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was offside when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display justified Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His movement and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to Everton the upper hand all game.

The Londoners grew into the game gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when set up in the box by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, driven on by the midfielder and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for offside when Leno parried a effort from Keane and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The home captain had moved offside when nodding down the winger's delivery in the build-up. But the team's next effort beating the keeper did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the back post when left unmarked on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his teammate Gueye finished from point-blank. The relief 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 delivery from the left. Ndiaye had laid off the ball into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that fell to the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that Keane directed over Leno. He did so with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat following the substitutions of Josh King, the Brazilian and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to deny Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with a crucial save late on.