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David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on the team's forwards. “I expect more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane responded perfectly, delivering a merited victory over the opposition's ineffective team.

Everton’s second victory in nine matches was fairly straightforward as Fulham showed the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were subdued throughout by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three goals disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’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 Everton forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by his teammate's fine cross.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, though, and withdrew the player at the break.

Barry thought his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the back post to turn in a drilled pass by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was erased by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and effort kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to the hosts the edge throughout.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi working well in midfield, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when set up inside the area by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a dangerous position directly at the Everton wall. And that was it.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a another strike chalked off for an infringement 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 the winger's cross in the build-up. But Everton’s next effort beating Leno did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a lovely cross to the back post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner Gueye converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a further effort ruled out early in the second half after the playmaker scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the security of a two-goal lead. The provider was the architect with a corner that Keane glanced past Leno. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were dismissed by VAR.

Fulham carried more of a threat following the substitutions of Josh King, the Brazilian and the winger. Pickford saved well with his feet to deny Muniz finding the net with his first touch and stopped Traoré with a crucial save late on.