Gueye along with Keane find the net as the Toffees defeat the Cottagers

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

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was largely untroubled as the visitors demonstrated the reason their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were contained all match by the home team's superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for offside, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header ensured there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No player was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, the Everton forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and missed a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The 23-year-old headed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by his teammate's fine cross.

Everton controlled the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the identical opponent later in the half but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, however, and substituted the player at the interval.

The striker thought his fortune had finally turned when arriving at the back post to turn in a low cross by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee supported the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have continued in front of goal, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and work-rate kept busy the opposition's back line and contributed to the hosts the upper hand throughout.

Fulham grew into the game slowly with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when set up in the box by Iwobi and sent a set-piece from a dangerous position directly at the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, driven on by the midfielder and the forward, had a another strike disallowed for an infringement when Leno saved a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The skipper had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But the team's third attempt past Leno did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski connected with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his midfield partner Gueye finished from point-blank. The relief inside the ground was palpable.

Everton had a further effort ruled out after the restart after the playmaker scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the ball into the striker, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the home player. 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 back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger following the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to deny Muniz scoring with his first touch and stopped the speedster with a crucial save late on.