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The Everton manager had made clear before Fulham's visit that the onus for scoring goals must not rest only on the team's strikers. “I expect more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender responded perfectly, securing a well-earned victory over the opposition's toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was relatively comfortable as Fulham highlighted why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were kept quiet all match by the home team's greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three goals disallowed for infringements, 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 needed a goal more than the young striker, the Everton attacker who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without a shot on target after his big-money move from the Spanish side and missed a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's crossbar when found by his teammate's fine cross.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic tripped the same player again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, though, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

The striker believed his luck had changed at last when arriving at the back post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the joy of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was offside when going for the delivery, and missing, and the VAR backed up the original call. 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 work-rate occupied the opposition's back line and contributed to Everton the upper hand throughout.

Fulham grew into the game gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up in the box by Iwobi and sent a free-kick from a promising location directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, inspired by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a another strike disallowed for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt past the keeper counted. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

The home side had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging the Fulham defender for the touch that reached the home player. Everton would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a set-piece that the defender glanced past Leno. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger following the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his feet to deny the substitute finding the net with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with another important stop late on.