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The Everton manager had stressed before Fulham's visit that the onus for scoring goals must not rest only on his side's forwards. “I expect more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he declared. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane duly obliged, securing a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s ineffective team.

Everton’s second victory in nine matches was largely untroubled as Fulham demonstrated why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the away side were kept quiet throughout by the home team's superior intensity and technical ability. The Blues had three goals disallowed for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and Keane’s second-half header ensured there would be no comeback for the former Everton manager.

No one needed a goal more than the young striker, the Everton forward who had gone 10 Premier League outings without testing the goalkeeper after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The 23-year-old directed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when picked out by his teammate's excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over James Garner’s 30-yard free-kick, awarded after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian brought down the same player later in the half but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the midfielder at the break.

Barry believed his luck had finally turned when arriving at the far post to turn in a low cross by his teammate. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was offside when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee backed up the original call. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and work-rate kept busy the opposition's back line and contributed to Everton the edge all game.

The Londoners grew into the game gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi working well in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when set up in the box by Iwobi and sent a set-piece from a dangerous position directly at the Everton wall. And that was it.

The Blues, inspired by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a another strike disallowed for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The home captain had just strayed offside when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But the team's next effort past Leno did stand. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a lovely cross to the far post when found in space on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his teammate Gueye converted from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a third goal disallowed early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had laid off the delivery into Barry, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that fell to the home player. The team would have to be patient until the closing stages for the security of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that Keane glanced past the goalkeeper. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham carried more of a threat following the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. The Everton keeper made a fine stop with his legs to deny Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and stopped Traoré with a crucial save in the dying moments.