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David Moyes had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals should not rest only on his side's strikers. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane responded perfectly, securing a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as Fulham demonstrated the reason their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a short spell in the second half, the away side were contained all match by the home team's greater urgency and technical ability. The Blues had three goals disallowed for infringements, but a close-range strike from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his big-money move from Villarreal and missed a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by his teammate's excellent delivery.

Everton controlled the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent later in the half but the official, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. Silva was not risking anything, though, and withdrew the midfielder at the break.

Barry believed his fortune had finally turned when arriving at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by his teammate. But the elation of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was offside when attacking Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in the final third, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His runs and effort kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the edge throughout.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when set up inside the area by Iwobi and put a free-kick from a dangerous position directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a another strike chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when heading on the winger's delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt past the keeper did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a lovely cross to the back post when found in space on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a third goal disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had laid off the ball into Barry, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the security of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a corner that Keane glanced past Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were dismissed by VAR.

Silva’s side posed more danger following the introductions of Josh King, the Brazilian and the winger. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his feet to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and denied Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.