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The Everton manager had stressed before Fulham's visit that the onus for scoring goals must not rest only on the team's strikers. “I want more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender duly obliged, earning a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

Everton’s second victory in nine matches was fairly straightforward as Fulham highlighted why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a short spell in the latter period, the visitors were subdued throughout by the home team's greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three goals ruled out for offside, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and Keane’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 forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and missed a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's goal frame when found by his teammate's fine cross.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, though, and withdrew the player at the break.

The striker thought his fortune had changed at last when sliding in at the back post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the joy of a maiden strike was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have continued in front of goal, but his all-round performance validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and effort occupied the opposition's back line and helped give Everton the edge all game.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when set up inside the area by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a promising location directly at the Everton wall. And that was it.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a another strike disallowed for an infringement when Leno parried a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the rebound. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort past Leno counted. The left-back floated a lovely cross to the back post when left unmarked on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his midfield partner Gueye finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

Everton had a further effort ruled out early in the second half after the playmaker scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had laid off the ball into Barry, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that fell to the home player. The team would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall 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 handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger after the substitutions of Josh King, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to deny the substitute finding the net with his first touch and stopped Traoré with another important stop in the dying moments.