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David Moyes had emphasized before Fulham's visit that the onus for scoring goals must not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I expect more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender rose to the occasion, earning a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine matches was relatively comfortable as Fulham demonstrated the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a short spell in the second half, the visitors were subdued throughout by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye in added time before the break and the defender's second-half header made sure there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No one needed a goal more than Thierno Barry, the Everton forward 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 spurned a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by his teammate's excellent delivery.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, given after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the same player again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, though, and withdrew the midfielder at the interval.

Barry believed his luck had changed at last when sliding in at the back post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the joy of a maiden strike was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when going for Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in front of goal, but his all-round performance validated Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His movement and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give the hosts the upper hand throughout.

Fulham grew into the game slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up inside the area by Iwobi and put a set-piece from a promising location directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and the captain fired home the rebound. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort past the keeper did stand. The left-back delivered a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender connected with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer converted from close range. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

Everton 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 cushioned the ball into the striker, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the creator with a set-piece that the defender directed over Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were dismissed by VAR.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat after the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to deny Muniz finding the net with his first touch and stopped the speedster with another important stop in the dying moments.