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David Moyes had stressed before Fulham's visit that the onus for finding the back of the net must not rest only on his side's strikers. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender duly obliged, delivering a fully deserved victory over the opposition's toothless team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine outings was fairly straightforward as Fulham showed the reason their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a short spell in the latter period, the visitors were kept quiet all match by Everton’s greater urgency and technical ability. The Blues had three goals disallowed for offside, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in added time before the break and the defender's second-half header made sure there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No one needed a goal more than Thierno Barry, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his big-money move from Villarreal and missed a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The 23-year-old headed the first opportunity of the game over the Fulham keeper's crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

The home side controlled the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the same player later in the half but the official, Andrew Madley, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was taking no further chances, however, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

The striker believed his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the back post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when going for the delivery, and missing, and the VAR backed up the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in front of goal, but his overall display validated Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His runs and work-rate occupied the opposition's back line and helped give the hosts the upper hand 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 first half threat from the visitors was minimal. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when set up inside the area by Iwobi and put a free-kick from a dangerous position straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the loose ball. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when heading on the winger's delivery in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort past the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a lovely cross to the far post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his teammate the scorer converted 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 Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into the striker, who was offside when competing with Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a corner that Keane glanced over the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat following the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to prevent the substitute scoring with his first touch and stopped Traoré with another important stop late on.