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David Moyes had made clear before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals should not fall solely on his side's strikers. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane duly obliged, earning a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was relatively comfortable as Fulham showed why their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a short spell in the second half, the away side were subdued throughout by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. The Blues had three goals disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s second-half header made sure there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No player was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his big-money move from the Spanish side and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The 23-year-old headed the earliest chance of the game over the Fulham keeper's crossbar when picked out by his teammate's fine cross.

Everton controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, given after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the same player again before halftime but the official, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a sending off. Silva was not risking anything, though, and withdrew the midfielder at the interval.

The striker thought his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the back post to turn in a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in the final third, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to keep the faith. His runs and effort kept busy the opposition's back line and contributed to Everton the edge throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when set up in the box by his teammate and put a free-kick from a dangerous position directly at the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal disallowed for offside when Leno parried a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt beating Leno did stand. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the far post when found in space on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye finished from point-blank. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting delivery from the left. The attacker had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that fell to the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the creator with a corner that Keane directed over Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for handball were rejected by VAR.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat after the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to prevent the substitute finding the net with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with another important stop in the dying moments.