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David Moyes had emphasized before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for finding the back of the net should not rest only on the team's strikers. “I expect more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane duly obliged, earning a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine matches was relatively comfortable as the visitors highlighted why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a short spell in the latter period, the away side were kept quiet all match by Everton’s greater urgency and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three goals disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish 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 player was more in need of scoring more than the young striker, the Goodison Park forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the same player again before halftime but the official, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, however, and substituted the player at the break.

The striker believed his luck had changed at last when arriving at the back post to turn in a drilled pass by his teammate. But the joy of a maiden strike was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, 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 Everton the edge throughout.

The Londoners grew into the game slowly with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was limited. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by his teammate and put a set-piece from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. And that was it.

The Blues, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a effort from Keane and the captain volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had moved offside when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But the team's third attempt past Leno counted. The left-back delivered a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender connected with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a further effort ruled out after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that the defender glanced past the goalkeeper. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for handball were rejected by the video official.

Silva’s side posed more danger following the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his feet to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.