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The Everton manager had stressed before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for scoring goals must not rest only on his side's forwards. “I expect more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he insisted. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender responded perfectly, securing a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine matches was fairly straightforward as the visitors demonstrated the reason their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were contained all match by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header made sure there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring more than the young striker, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his big-money move from the Spanish side and missed a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland on Monday. The 23-year-old directed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by his teammate's fine cross.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the same player later in the half but the official, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and withdrew the player at the break.

Barry believed his fortune had finally turned when sliding in at the far post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the VAR supported the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have continued in the final third, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to keep the faith. His runs and effort kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the edge all game.

Fulham grew into the game gradually with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up inside the area by his teammate 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 another strike chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the rebound. The home captain had just strayed offside when heading on the winger's delivery in the buildup. But the team's next effort beating the keeper did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer finished from point-blank. The relief inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a third goal disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that Keane directed past Leno. He did so with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were dismissed by VAR.

Fulham carried more of a threat following the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to prevent Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with a crucial save late on.