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The Everton manager had made clear before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals should not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I demand more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he insisted. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender duly obliged, earning a merited victory over the opposition's ineffective team.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was largely untroubled as the visitors highlighted why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a short spell in the second half, the away side were kept quiet throughout by the home team's greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for offside, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header ensured there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, the Everton forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The 23-year-old directed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by his teammate's excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored home protests for a sending off. Silva was not risking anything, however, and withdrew the midfielder at the break.

Barry thought his luck had finally turned when arriving at the far post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the joy of a maiden strike was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in the final third, but his all-round performance justified Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His runs and work-rate kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the upper hand all game.

The Londoners came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when set up in the box by his teammate and sent a free-kick from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for offside when Leno parried a effort from Keane and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had just strayed offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But the team's next effort beating the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski connected with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer finished from close range. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a further effort ruled out early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting delivery from the left. The attacker had laid off the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging the Fulham defender for the touch that fell to the home player. Everton would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a two-goal lead. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that the defender glanced past Leno. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger following the introductions of Josh King, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his legs to deny Muniz finding the net with his first touch and denied Traoré with another important stop late on.