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The Everton manager had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net must not fall solely on the team's forwards. “I want more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, securing a fully deserved victory over the opposition's ineffective team.

Everton’s second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as the visitors highlighted why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, the away side were subdued all match by Everton’s superior intensity and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three efforts ruled out for offside, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, the Everton forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, given after the Fulham player was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the same player later in the half but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the player at the interval.

Barry believed his luck had changed at last when arriving at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by Gueye. 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 VAR supported the original call. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to keep the faith. His runs and work-rate kept busy the opposition's back line and contributed to the hosts the edge all game.

The Londoners grew into the game slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the away team was limited. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when set up in the box by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, driven on by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a another strike chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The home captain had moved offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But the team's next effort beating the keeper counted. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski connected with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye converted from point-blank. The relief inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a further effort disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the ball into the striker, who was offside when challenging the Fulham defender for the ball that fell to the home player. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that the defender glanced over the goalkeeper. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger after the substitutions of Josh King, the Brazilian and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to prevent Muniz scoring with his first touch and stopped Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.