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The Everton manager had stressed before Fulham's visit that the responsibility for scoring goals should not rest only on his side's strikers. “I expect more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he insisted. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane responded perfectly, earning a merited victory over the opposition's ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was relatively comfortable as the visitors highlighted why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Apart from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were subdued all match by Everton’s greater urgency and technical ability. The Blues had three efforts ruled out for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in added time before the break and Keane’s second-half header ensured there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No one needed a goal as much as the young striker, the Goodison Park attacker who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game over the Fulham keeper's crossbar when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper pushed over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away home protests for a second yellow. Silva was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the player at the interval.

Barry thought his luck had changed at last when sliding in at the back post to turn in a drilled pass by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was wiped out by an linesman's decision. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when going for Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the VAR backed up the original call. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and work-rate kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners grew into the game slowly with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi working well in midfield, but the early danger from the away team was minimal. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at Jordon Pickford when teed up inside the area by his teammate and put a free-kick from a promising location directly at the Everton wall. And that was it.

Everton, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye, had a second goal chalked off for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed beyond the last defender when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the buildup. But Everton’s third attempt beating the keeper counted. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left flank by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner Gueye finished from close range. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a further effort ruled out after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from a further excellent delivery from the left. Ndiaye had laid off the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that fell to the home player. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a corner that Keane glanced past the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by VAR.

Silva’s side carried more of a threat after the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford made a fine stop with his legs to deny Muniz finding the net with his initial involvement and stopped the speedster with another important stop late on.