Gueye along with Michael Keane find the net as Everton defeat Fulham

The Everton manager had emphasized before the match against Fulham 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 centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane duly obliged, delivering a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was fairly straightforward as Fulham showed the reason their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were subdued throughout by the home team's superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three goals disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster headed the first opportunity of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's goal frame when found by his teammate's excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. Lukic brought down the identical opponent later in the half but the official, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, though, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

The striker believed his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the far post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the elation of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was offside when attacking the delivery, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in front of goal, but his overall display validated Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His movement and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give the hosts the edge throughout.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. The Mexican striker shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when teed up inside the area by his teammate and put a free-kick from a dangerous position directly at the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when Leno saved a Keane header and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But the team's next effort past the keeper did stand. The left-back floated a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski connected with a powerful nod against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer finished from close range. The relief inside the ground was palpable.

Everton had a further effort disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the home player. Everton would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a set-piece that Keane glanced past Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger following the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his feet to deny the substitute finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with a crucial save late on.