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The Everton manager had made clear before Fulham's visit that the onus for scoring goals must not fall solely on his side's strikers. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, securing a fully deserved victory over the opposition's toothless team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was relatively comfortable as the visitors showed the reason their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were contained throughout by Everton’s greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three goals ruled out for infringements, but a close-range strike from Gueye in added time before the break and the defender's late conversion made sure there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No one needed a goal more than Thierno Barry, the Everton forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without a shot on target after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old directed the first opportunity of the game over the Fulham keeper's crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton controlled the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, awarded after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the same player again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, though, and substituted the player at the break.

Barry believed his luck had finally turned when arriving at the far post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. The attacker was offside when attacking the delivery, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His runs and work-rate occupied the opposition's back line and helped give Everton the edge throughout.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by his teammate and sent a free-kick from a promising location directly at the defensive barrier. And that was it.

The Blues, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and James Tarkowski fired home the rebound. The home captain had just strayed offside when nodding down the winger's cross in the build-up. But Everton’s next effort beating the keeper did stand. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the far post when left unmarked on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his teammate Gueye finished from point-blank. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was palpable.

Everton had a further effort disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had laid off the delivery into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with Joachim Anderson for the touch that fell to the home player. Everton would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the creator with a set-piece that Keane directed over the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and the visitors' protests for a handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham carried more of a threat following the substitutions of the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his legs to prevent Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and denied Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.