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David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals must not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I want more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender responded perfectly, earning a fully deserved victory over the opposition's ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine outings was largely untroubled as Fulham highlighted the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry 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 ruled out for infringements, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header made sure there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

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 big-money move from the Spanish side and missed a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old directed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, however, and substituted the player at the break.

The striker thought his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the back post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the elation of a maiden strike was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking 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 validated Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His movement and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to Everton the edge throughout.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when teed up in the box by his teammate and put a set-piece from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal disallowed for offside when Leno parried a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But the team's third attempt beating the keeper counted. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the far post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye finished from close range. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

The home side had a third goal disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from a further excellent delivery from the left. The attacker had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was in an offside position when competing with Joachim Anderson for the ball that reached the home player. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the security of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a set-piece that the defender glanced over Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for handball were rejected by VAR.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the introductions of Josh King, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his legs to deny the substitute finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with a crucial save late on.