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

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was relatively comfortable as Fulham showed the reason their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a short spell in the second half, the away side were subdued all match by Everton’s superior intensity and technical ability. The Blues had three goals disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in added time before the break and Keane’s late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No player needed a goal more than Thierno Barry, the Everton forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from the Spanish side and missed a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland earlier in the week. The 23-year-old directed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by his teammate's excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, awarded after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lukic brought down the same player again before halftime but the official, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, though, and substituted the player at the interval.

The striker thought his luck had changed at last when sliding in at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by Gueye. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have continued in the final third, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement 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 slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi working well in midfield, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. The Mexican striker shot tamely at the England keeper when set up inside the area by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a dangerous position straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, driven on by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for an infringement when Leno parried a Keane header and the captain fired home the loose ball. The skipper had moved beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s delivery in the build-up. But the team's next effort beating Leno did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a perfect ball to the far post when found in space on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye finished from close range. The sense of release inside the ground was palpable.

Everton had a further effort ruled out early in the second half after the playmaker found the bottom corner from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. The attacker had laid off the ball into the striker, who was in an offside position when challenging the Fulham defender for the touch that reached the home player. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the security of a second goal. The provider was the creator with a set-piece that Keane glanced over Leno. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were rejected by VAR.

Fulham carried more of a threat after the introductions of Josh King, the Brazilian and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to prevent the substitute scoring with his first touch and stopped the speedster with another important stop in the dying moments.