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The Everton manager had made clear before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for finding the back of the net must not rest only on his side's forwards. “I expect more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender responded perfectly, earning a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was relatively comfortable as the visitors demonstrated the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a short spell in the latter period, the visitors were contained throughout by Everton’s greater urgency and quality. The Blues 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 player was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the official, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, however, and substituted the player at the break.

The striker thought his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by Gueye. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when going for Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the VAR backed up the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in front of goal, but his all-round performance validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and effort occupied the opposition's back line and helped give Everton the upper hand all game.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when teed up inside the area by his teammate and put a set-piece from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, inspired by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a another strike chalked off for offside when Leno parried a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the rebound. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down the winger's delivery in the buildup. But the team's third attempt beating the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a perfect ball to the far post when found in space on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his teammate Gueye finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

The home side had a third goal ruled out after the restart after the playmaker found the bottom corner from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging Joachim Anderson for the ball that fell to the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a set-piece that the defender directed over Leno. He scored with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger after the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to prevent the substitute scoring with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with another important stop in the dying moments.