🔗 Share this article

The Everton manager had stressed before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender duly obliged, delivering a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine matches was largely untroubled as Fulham demonstrated the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a short spell in the latter period, the visitors were subdued all match by Everton’s greater urgency and technical ability. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header ensured there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Everton forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from Villarreal and missed a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game over the Fulham keeper's crossbar when found by his teammate's fine cross.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped 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 not risking anything, though, and substituted the player at the interval.

Barry believed his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the back post to turn in a drilled pass by his teammate. But the joy of a maiden strike was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when attacking the delivery, and missing, and the video assistant referee supported the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have continued in the final third, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and work-rate occupied the opposition's back line and contributed to the hosts the edge throughout.

Fulham grew into the game slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. The Mexican striker fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when set up inside the area by his teammate and sent a free-kick from a promising location directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for offside when Leno parried a Keane header and the captain fired home the loose ball. The skipper had just strayed beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But the team's next effort beating the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his midfield partner Gueye converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a third goal ruled out early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. The attacker had cushioned the ball into the striker, who was in an offside position when challenging the Fulham defender for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that the defender directed past the goalkeeper. He did so 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 following the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to deny the substitute scoring with his first touch and stopped the speedster with another important stop late on.