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David Moyes had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals must not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, earning a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was fairly straightforward as Fulham showed the reason their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were contained throughout by Everton’s superior intensity and technical ability. Moyes’ team had three efforts ruled out for offside, but a close-range strike from Gueye 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 testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton controlled the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, however, and withdrew the player at the break.

The striker thought his fortune had finally turned when arriving at the far post to convert a low cross by his teammate. But the elation of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was offside when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the VAR supported the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have continued 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 Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the edge all game.

The Londoners grew into the game gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up inside the area by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a dangerous position directly at the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper saved a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski volleyed in the rebound. The home captain had moved offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the build-up. But the team's next effort past Leno did stand. The left-back floated a lovely cross to the back post when found in space on the left flank by the youngster. The defender connected with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

The home side had a further effort disallowed after the restart after the playmaker scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the ball into Barry, who was offside when challenging the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. The provider was the architect with a corner that the defender glanced past the goalkeeper. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were rejected by VAR.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the introductions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his legs to deny Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with a crucial save late on.