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David Moyes had stressed before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for finding the back of the net should not rest only on the team's forwards. “I want more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender duly obliged, earning a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine matches was fairly straightforward as Fulham highlighted why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were contained all match 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 second-half header made sure there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one needed a goal more than Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and missed a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The youngster headed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by his teammate's fine cross.

Everton dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian brought down the same player later in the half but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a sending off. Silva was taking no further chances, however, and withdrew the player at the interval.

Barry thought his luck had finally turned when arriving at the back post to convert a low cross by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee supported the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in the final third, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to Everton the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when set up inside the area by Iwobi and sent a set-piece from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by the midfielder and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for offside when Leno parried a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But the team's next effort past the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the far post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a third goal disallowed after the restart after the playmaker scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had laid off the ball into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that fell to the home player. Everton would have to wait until the closing stages for the security of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that the defender directed past Leno. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat after the introductions of Josh King, the Brazilian and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his legs to deny the substitute finding the net with his first touch and denied the speedster with another important stop in the dying moments.