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The Everton manager had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for finding the back of the net should not rest only on his side's strikers. “I expect more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender duly obliged, delivering a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was fairly straightforward as Fulham highlighted why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a short spell in the latter period, the away side were kept quiet all match by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s second-half header ensured there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No player needed a goal more than the young striker, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game over the Fulham keeper's crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was booked for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent later in the half but the official, the man in charge, rightly ignored 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 sliding in at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was erased by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was offside 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 persisted in front of goal, but his all-round performance validated the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners grew into the game gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford 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 the forward, had a another strike chalked off for offside when Leno saved a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the rebound. The skipper had moved offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt beating Leno did stand. The left-back floated a lovely cross to the back post when found in space on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner Gueye converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a third goal ruled out after the restart after the playmaker found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was offside when challenging the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the home player. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. The provider was the creator with a corner that the defender directed over the goalkeeper. He scored with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his legs to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with another important stop late on.