Idrissa Gueye along with Keane on target as the Toffees overcome Fulham

David Moyes had stressed before Fulham's visit that the onus for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he insisted. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane duly obliged, delivering a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine outings was relatively comfortable as Fulham demonstrated why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, the away side were subdued all match by the home team's superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for infringements, but a close-range strike from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header ensured there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic tripped the same player later in the half but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, however, and substituted the player at the break.

Barry thought his fortune had changed at last when sliding in at the back post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the VAR supported the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to keep the faith. His runs and work-rate occupied the opposition's back line and helped give Everton the upper hand all game.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by his teammate and put a free-kick from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, driven on by the midfielder and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the rebound. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when heading on the winger's cross in the buildup. But the team's next effort beating the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the far post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his teammate the scorer finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a third goal disallowed after the restart after the playmaker found the bottom corner from a further excellent delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was offside when challenging the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the home player. Everton would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that the defender directed past Leno. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for a handball were dismissed by VAR.

Fulham carried more of a threat following the introductions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his feet to prevent the substitute finding the net with his first touch and denied Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.