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David Moyes had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I expect more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane responded perfectly, earning a merited victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine matches was relatively comfortable as Fulham highlighted the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were subdued all match by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. Moyes’ team had three goals disallowed for offside, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, 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 two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The 23-year-old directed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by his teammate's fine cross.

Everton controlled the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was taking no further chances, however, and withdrew the player at the break.

Barry believed his fortune had changed at last when sliding in at the far post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the joy of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking the delivery, and missing, and the VAR supported the original call. 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 runs and effort occupied the opposition's back line and contributed to the hosts the edge all game.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by his teammate and put a set-piece from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a another strike chalked off for offside when Leno saved a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the rebound. The home captain had just strayed offside when nodding down the winger's cross in the buildup. But the team's next effort past the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski connected with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his midfield partner the scorer converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a further effort disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from a further excellent delivery from the left. The attacker had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to the home player. Everton would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that the defender directed over Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat after the introductions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to prevent the substitute finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with another important stop in the dying moments.