🔗 Share this article

David Moyes had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals must not rest only on his side's strikers. “I expect more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane responded perfectly, securing a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

Everton’s second win in nine matches was relatively comfortable as the visitors showed why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a short spell in the second half, the away side were subdued throughout by the home team's superior intensity and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three goals disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and the defender's late conversion ensured there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one needed a goal more than the young striker, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and missed a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland on Monday. The 23-year-old directed the first opportunity of the game over the Fulham keeper's goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and withdrew the player at the interval.

The striker thought his luck had changed at last when arriving at the back post to turn in a low cross by his teammate. But the joy of a maiden strike was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was offside when going for the delivery, and missing, and the VAR backed up the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in the final third, but his all-round performance justified Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His runs and effort kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the edge all game.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when set up in the box by his teammate and sent a free-kick from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the rebound. The home captain had moved offside when heading on Jack Grealish’s delivery in the build-up. But Everton’s next effort beating Leno did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left by the youngster. The defender connected with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his teammate the scorer finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a further effort ruled out after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging the Fulham defender for the ball that fell to the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the security of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that Keane directed past Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger following the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper saved well with his legs to prevent Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with another important stop in the dying moments.