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David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals should not rest only on his side's forwards. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, securing a merited victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

Everton’s second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as the visitors showed why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were contained throughout by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three goals disallowed for offside, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in added time before the break and the defender's late conversion ensured there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton controlled the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, however, and withdrew the player at the break.

Barry believed his luck had finally turned when arriving at the back post to turn in a drilled pass by his teammate. But the joy of a maiden strike was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when going for the delivery, and missing, and the video assistant referee supported the original call. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance justified Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His runs and work-rate kept busy the opposition's back line and contributed to the hosts the edge throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when set up inside the area by Iwobi and put a set-piece from a dangerous position straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, driven on by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for offside when Leno saved a Keane header and James Tarkowski volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's cross in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt past Leno counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender connected with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

Everton had a further effort ruled out after the restart after the playmaker found the bottom corner from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into the striker, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the home player. Everton would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that the defender directed over the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by VAR.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat after the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. Pickford saved well with his legs to deny Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.