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The Everton manager had made clear before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for scoring goals must not rest only on his side's strikers. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane responded perfectly, delivering a merited victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was largely untroubled as the visitors showed the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were kept quiet all match by Everton’s greater urgency and technical ability. The Blues had three goals ruled out for offside, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in added time before the break and the defender's late conversion ensured there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one needed a goal as much as the young striker, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game over Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side controlled the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was yellow-carded for fouling the Everton midfielder. Lukic brought down the same player again before halftime but the official, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. Silva was not risking anything, though, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

Barry thought his fortune had finally turned when sliding in at the back post to turn in a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking the delivery, and missing, and the VAR supported the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance validated the manager's choice to keep the faith. His runs and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to Everton the edge throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi working well in midfield, but the early danger from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when teed up in the box by Iwobi and sent a free-kick from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had just strayed beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt beating the keeper counted. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the far post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer finished from close range. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a third goal ruled out early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had laid off the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that fell to the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the security of a second goal. The provider was the creator with a corner that Keane directed past the goalkeeper. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger after the introductions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper saved well with his legs to prevent Muniz scoring with his first touch and denied Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.