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David Moyes had stressed before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for finding the back of the net must not fall solely on his side's forwards. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender responded perfectly, securing a fully deserved victory over the opposition's ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as the visitors demonstrated the reason their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a short spell in the latter period, the visitors were kept quiet throughout by the home team's greater urgency and quality. Moyes’ team had three goals ruled out for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No player was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, the Goodison Park 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 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by his teammate's excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after the Fulham player was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent later in the half but the official, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, though, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

The striker thought his luck had changed at last when arriving at the far post to turn in a low cross by Gueye. But the joy of a maiden strike was erased by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking the delivery, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in front of goal, but his all-round performance justified Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His movement and work-rate occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners grew into the game gradually with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by Iwobi and put a free-kick from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, driven on by the midfielder and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for offside when Leno saved a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's delivery in the build-up. But the team's next effort past Leno did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his midfield partner Gueye converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

The home side had a third goal ruled out early in the second half after the playmaker scored from a further excellent delivery from the left. Ndiaye had laid off the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to 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 the defender glanced past the goalkeeper. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger following the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to deny Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with a crucial save late on.