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David Moyes had made clear before Fulham's visit that the onus for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on his side's strikers. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, delivering a merited victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as the visitors highlighted the reason their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a short spell in the latter period, the away side were subdued throughout by the home team's superior intensity and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three efforts ruled out for offside, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s late conversion ensured there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring more than the young striker, the Goodison Park attacker 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 the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the same player 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 substituted the player at the interval.

Barry thought his luck had changed at last when arriving at the far post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance validated Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His runs and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to the hosts the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners grew into the game slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. The Mexican striker shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when set up in the box by his teammate and put a set-piece from a dangerous position directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when Leno parried a Keane header and the captain fired home the loose ball. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But the team's third attempt past Leno did stand. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the back post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye converted from point-blank. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

The home side had a third goal ruled out after the restart after the playmaker scored from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that fell to 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 corner that the defender glanced past Leno. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger following the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to deny Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with a crucial save late on.