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David Moyes had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on his side's forwards. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane duly obliged, earning a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was largely untroubled as Fulham showed why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, the away side were kept quiet throughout by the home team's greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three efforts disallowed for infringements, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and the defender's late conversion made sure there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as 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 the Spanish side and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by his teammate's fine cross.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, rightly ignored home protests for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, however, and withdrew the midfielder at the break.

The striker believed his luck had changed at last when arriving at the far post to convert a low cross by Gueye. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an linesman's decision. The attacker was offside when going for Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the upper hand all game.

Fulham grew into the game slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the away team was limited. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by Iwobi and put a free-kick from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. And that was it.

Everton, driven on by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a another strike chalked off for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the rebound. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's cross in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort beating Leno counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the far post when found in space on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski connected with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his teammate Gueye finished from close range. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

The home side had a third goal ruled out early in the second half after the playmaker found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had laid off the ball into the striker, who was in an offside position when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to the home player. Everton would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a corner that the defender directed past Leno. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat following the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to deny Muniz finding the net with his first touch and stopped Traoré with another important stop in the dying moments.