Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane on target as the Toffees sink Fulham

David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals must not rest only on the team's forwards. “I demand more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and the English defender rose to the occasion, securing a fully deserved victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was largely untroubled as Fulham highlighted the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a short spell in the latter period, the away side were kept quiet throughout by Everton’s superior intensity and technical ability. The Blues had three goals ruled out for infringements, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in added time before the break and the defender's second-half header made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and missed a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The youngster headed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s fine cross.

Everton dominated the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper 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 same player again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. Silva was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the player at the interval.

Barry thought his luck had finally turned when sliding in at the back post to convert a low cross by his teammate. But the elation of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was offside when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the VAR backed up the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance justified Moyes’ decision to keep the faith. His movement and effort kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to the hosts the upper hand throughout.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi combining effectively in midfield, but the early danger from the away team was minimal. The Mexican striker 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.

Everton, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal disallowed for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and James Tarkowski volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort beating the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a perfect ball to the far post when left unmarked on the left by the youngster. The defender connected with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner Gueye finished from close range. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

The home side had a further effort disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into the striker, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the home player. Everton would have to be patient until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that the defender directed past Leno. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by VAR.

Silva’s side posed more danger after the substitutions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to prevent Muniz finding the net with his first touch and stopped the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.