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The Everton manager had emphasized before Fulham's visit that the onus for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on the team's forwards. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane duly obliged, delivering a fully deserved victory over the opposition's toothless side.

Everton’s second win in nine outings was fairly straightforward as Fulham showed the reason their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the latter period, the visitors were kept quiet all match by the home team's greater urgency and technical ability. The Blues had three goals ruled out for offside, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and the defender's second-half header made sure there would be no comeback for their ex-coach.

No player was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. Lukic tripped the same player again before halftime but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored home protests for a sending off. Silva was taking no further chances, however, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

Barry thought his fortune had finally turned when sliding in at the far post to convert a low cross by his teammate. But the joy of a maiden strike was erased by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in front of goal, 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 the hosts the edge throughout.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when set up inside the area by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when Leno 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 build-up. But the team's third attempt beating Leno did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered 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 against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a further effort ruled out early in the second half after the playmaker found the bottom corner from a further excellent delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the delivery into the striker, who was in an offside position when competing with Joachim Anderson for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the security of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that Keane glanced over Leno. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were dismissed by VAR.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat after the substitutions of the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to prevent Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.