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David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on his side's forwards. “I demand more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane responded perfectly, earning a fully deserved victory over the opposition's toothless side.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was relatively comfortable as the visitors highlighted the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were contained all match 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 the defender's late conversion ensured there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No player needed a goal more than Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The 23-year-old directed the first opportunity of the game over the Fulham keeper's goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper tipped 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 later in the half but the official, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, however, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

Barry thought his luck had changed at last when arriving at the far post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the joy of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted 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 upper hand throughout.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when set up in the box by Iwobi and sent a set-piece from a dangerous position directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's delivery in the buildup. But the team's next effort past Leno counted. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his midfield partner the scorer converted from close range. The relief inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a further effort ruled out after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that fell to the home player. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. The provider was the creator with a corner that Keane directed over Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger after the introductions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his feet to prevent Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with another important stop late on.