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David Moyes had stressed before Fulham's visit 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 centre-halves and central players as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane duly obliged, delivering a merited victory over the opposition's toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was relatively comfortable as Fulham highlighted the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were contained all match by the home team's greater urgency 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 the defender's late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No player needed a goal more than the young striker, 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 Sunderland on Monday. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by his teammate's fine cross.

Everton controlled the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the same player again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

The striker thought his fortune had finally turned when arriving at the far post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the elation of a maiden strike was erased by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the VAR supported the original call. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance validated Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His runs and work-rate occupied the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the upper hand all game.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by his teammate and put a set-piece from a dangerous position directly at the Everton wall. And that was it.

The Blues, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a another strike chalked off for an infringement when Leno parried a effort from Keane and the captain volleyed in the loose ball. The skipper had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But the team's third attempt past the keeper counted. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the far post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate the scorer finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

The home side had a third goal disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the home player. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. The provider was the creator with a set-piece that Keane directed past Leno. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger following the substitutions of Josh King, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to deny the substitute scoring with his first touch and stopped the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.