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The Everton manager had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals should not fall solely on his side's strikers. “I demand more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender responded perfectly, earning a merited victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was relatively comfortable as the visitors showed why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were kept quiet all match by the home team's superior intensity and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three efforts ruled out for offside, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No player was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from Villarreal and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian brought down the same player later in the half but the referee, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, however, and withdrew the player at the break.

Barry believed his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the far post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the joy of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the original call. The forward's bad luck may have continued in front of goal, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and work-rate occupied Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to Everton the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when set up inside the area by his teammate and sent a set-piece 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 second goal chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed offside when nodding down the winger's cross in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt past Leno counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the far post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender connected with a thumping header against the bar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his teammate the scorer converted from close range. The relief inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a third goal disallowed after the restart after the playmaker found the bottom corner from a further excellent delivery from the left. The attacker had laid off the delivery into the striker, who was offside when competing with Joachim Anderson for the touch that fell to the home player. Everton would have to wait until the 81st minute for the security of a two-goal lead. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that the defender glanced past the goalkeeper. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were dismissed by VAR.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat following the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to prevent the substitute scoring with his first touch and stopped Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.