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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 should not rest only on his side's strikers. “I demand more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender responded perfectly, earning a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was relatively comfortable as the visitors demonstrated why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the away side were contained all match by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. Moyes’ team had three goals disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye in added time before the break and the defender's second-half header made sure 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 testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by his teammate's excellent delivery.

Everton controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian brought down the same player later in the half but the official, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, however, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

Barry thought his luck had finally turned when arriving at the far post to turn in a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was offside when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the VAR backed up the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display justified Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His runs and effort kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the edge throughout.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the first half threat from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by his teammate and sent a free-kick from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. And that was it.

The Blues, driven on by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when Leno saved a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the rebound. The skipper had just strayed offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort past the keeper did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer converted from point-blank. 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 another inviting delivery from the left. The attacker had laid off the ball into Barry, who was offside when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to the home player. Everton would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a set-piece that the defender glanced past Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Silva’s side posed more danger following the introductions of Josh King, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to deny Muniz finding the net with his first touch and stopped the speedster with another important stop in the dying moments.