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David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for finding the back of the net must not rest only on the team's forwards. “I demand more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, securing a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine matches was fairly straightforward as the visitors showed why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a short spell in the second half, the away side were contained throughout by the home team's superior intensity and technical ability. The Blues had three goals ruled out for offside, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring more than the young striker, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from Villarreal and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the player at the break.

The striker believed his fortune had finally turned when arriving at the far 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 in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the VAR backed up the original call. The forward's bad luck may have continued in the final third, but his all-round performance justified Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His runs and work-rate occupied the opposition's back line and helped give Everton the edge throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by Iwobi and put a free-kick from a promising location directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, inspired by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a another strike disallowed for an infringement when Leno parried a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the build-up. But Everton’s next effort past the keeper did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left by the youngster. The defender met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his teammate 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 the playmaker scored from a further excellent delivery from the left. The attacker had laid off the ball into the striker, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to the home player. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a set-piece that the defender glanced over the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger after the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his feet to deny the substitute finding the net with his first touch and stopped Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.