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David Moyes had emphasized before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for finding the back of the net must not rest only on the team's strikers. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender rose to the occasion, delivering 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 the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a short spell in the second half, the visitors were contained throughout by the home team's superior intensity and technical ability. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s second-half header made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, 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 Sunderland on Monday. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian brought down the same player again before halftime but the official, the man in charge, rightly ignored home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the player at the interval.

The striker believed his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the far post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was offside when going for the delivery, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and effort occupied the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the upper hand throughout.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. The Mexican striker fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when set up inside the area by Iwobi and put a set-piece from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a another strike disallowed for offside when Leno saved a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the rebound. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But the team's third attempt beating the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the back post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender connected with a powerful nod against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a third goal ruled out early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall scored from a further excellent delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was offside when challenging the Fulham defender for the touch that reached the home player. Everton would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that the defender directed over Leno. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were dismissed by VAR.

Fulham carried more of a threat after the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and denied Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.