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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 forwards. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender rose to the occasion, earning a fully deserved victory over the opposition's ineffective side.

Everton’s second win in nine matches was largely untroubled as the visitors demonstrated why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were contained all match by Everton’s superior intensity and technical ability. The Blues had three goals disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's crossbar when picked out by his teammate's excellent delivery.

Everton controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, though, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

Barry believed his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the far post to convert a low cross by his teammate. But the joy of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the VAR supported the original call. The forward's bad luck may have continued in the final third, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His runs and effort kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners grew into the game slowly with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the first half threat from the visitors was limited. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by his teammate and sent a free-kick from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. And that was it.

The Blues, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a another strike chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The skipper had moved offside when heading on Jack Grealish’s delivery in the build-up. But the team's third attempt beating Leno did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a lovely cross to the back post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. The defender connected with a powerful nod against the bar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his teammate Gueye converted from point-blank. The relief inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a further effort disallowed after the restart after the playmaker found the bottom corner from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was offside when challenging the Fulham defender for the touch that fell to the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a corner that the defender glanced over Leno. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to deny the substitute scoring with his initial involvement and denied Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.