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David Moyes had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals must not rest only on his side's forwards. “I want more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane duly obliged, securing a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was largely untroubled as Fulham demonstrated the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a short spell in the second half, the away side were kept quiet all match by the home team's superior intensity and technical ability. The Blues had three goals disallowed for offside, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, the Everton forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and missed a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old headed the first opportunity of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by his teammate's excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the identical opponent later in the half but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, however, and withdrew the midfielder at the interval.

The striker believed his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by Gueye. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an linesman's decision. The attacker was offside 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 validated 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 gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when set up inside the area by Iwobi and put a free-kick from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a another strike chalked off for offside when Leno parried a effort from Keane and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when heading on the winger's delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt beating the keeper did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski connected with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer finished 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 scored from a further excellent delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to wait until the 81st minute for the security of a two-goal lead. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that Keane directed over the goalkeeper. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat after the introductions of Josh King, the Brazilian and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with another important stop late on.