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The Everton manager had made clear before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for finding the back of the net must not fall solely on the team's forwards. “I demand more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender responded perfectly, securing a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine outings was largely untroubled as the visitors highlighted why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a short spell in the latter period, the away side were subdued throughout by Everton’s superior intensity and technical ability. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No player was more in need of scoring as much as Thierno Barry, 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 missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game over the Fulham keeper's crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent later in the half but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, though, and substituted the player at the break.

Barry thought his luck had finally turned when arriving at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was offside when attacking the delivery, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in front of goal, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and work-rate occupied Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to the hosts the upper hand all game.

Fulham grew into the game slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when teed up inside the area by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a dangerous position directly at the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, driven on by the midfielder and the forward, had a another strike chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a Keane header and James Tarkowski fired home the loose ball. The skipper had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt beating Leno did stand. The left-back delivered a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left flank by the youngster. The defender connected with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his midfield partner the scorer converted from close range. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a further effort disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting delivery from the left. The attacker had laid off the delivery into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that fell to the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the creator with a corner that the defender directed over Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Silva’s side posed more danger following the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his legs to deny the substitute finding the net with his first touch and stopped the speedster with another important stop late on.