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David Moyes had made clear before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for finding the back of the net must not rest only on his side's forwards. “I demand more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, earning a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine matches was fairly straightforward as the visitors highlighted the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a short spell in the second half, the away side were contained throughout by the home team's superior intensity and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three efforts disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header made sure there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring more than the young striker, the Goodison Park forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from Villarreal and missed a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The youngster headed the first opportunity of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after the Fulham player was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the same player again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, however, and substituted the player at the interval.

Barry thought his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by Gueye. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and missing, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. 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 runs and work-rate kept busy the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the edge throughout.

The Londoners grew into the game slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when set up inside the area by Iwobi and put a free-kick from a dangerous position directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The skipper had just strayed offside when heading on the winger's cross in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt beating Leno counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski connected with a powerful nod against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner Gueye converted from point-blank. The relief inside the ground was palpable.

Everton had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after the playmaker scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. The attacker had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the home player. Everton would have to wait until the 81st minute for the security of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that Keane directed over the goalkeeper. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were rejected by VAR.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to deny Muniz finding the net with his first touch and stopped Traoré with a crucial save late on.