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David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals must not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I want more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, earning a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s toothless team.

Everton’s second victory in nine outings was fairly straightforward as the visitors highlighted why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the away side were contained throughout by the home team's superior intensity and quality. Moyes’ team had three goals ruled out for offside, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in added time before the break and the defender's second-half header ensured there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No one needed a goal as much as the young striker, the Goodison Park forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, 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 referee, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, though, and withdrew the midfielder at the interval.

The striker believed his fortune had changed at last when sliding in at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when going for Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the VAR backed up the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in front of goal, but his overall display justified Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His movement and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the upper hand all game.

Fulham grew into the game slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by Iwobi and sent a set-piece from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a another strike disallowed for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had moved offside when heading on the winger's cross in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt beating the keeper counted. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the far 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 teammate Gueye converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

Everton had a third goal disallowed after the restart after the playmaker scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had laid off the ball into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the home player. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the security of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that Keane glanced over Leno. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat after the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. Pickford saved well with his feet to prevent Muniz scoring with his first touch and stopped Traoré with another important stop late on.